Tuscaloosa's federal building to be renamed for former Sen. Richard Shelby

Downtown Tuscaloosa's U.S. Courthouse and Federal Building will be renamed Sept. 15 for Richard Shelby, the longest-serving U.S. senator from Alabama who helped channel the funding for that and numerous other local projects.

A ceremony will be held at 2 p.m. Sept. 15 inside the courthouse at 2005 University Blvd., renaming it the Richard Shelby Federal Building and Courthouse. Shelby, who recently retired from the Senate, plans to attend along with Gov. Kay Ivey, U.S. Sen. Katie Britt and other officials.

More: 'It feels humbling:' Tuscaloosa pays tribute to Richard Shelby for Senate work

“Many years before construction began on the Tuscaloosa Federal Building and Courthouse in December 2009, Senator Shelby foresaw how important this building would be, not only to the federal court system, but also to the citizens of Alabama,” said L. Scott Coogler, Chief U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Alabama, in a written release.

“As he has done with so many other worthy causes that have benefitted the state of Alabama, Senator Shelby worked tirelessly to secure funding for this building. Without question, this building should bear his name.”

The bill to change the building's name was signed by President Biden in March 2022. It houses the U.S. District and Bankruptcy courts, including courtrooms and support spaces, the U.S. Probation Office, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Senator Katie Britt’s Office, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the General Services Administration, and the Social Security Administration.

While it was under construction, artist Caleb O'Connor was hired to create 16 large-scale murals depicting state and local history, a three-year project.

"The neo-classical design inspires both judges and juries and will continue to do so for decades to come,” Coogler said in the release.

Though born in Birmingham, Shelby earned undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Alabama, then worked as a Tuscaloosa city prosecutor as well as private attorney, a U.S. magistrate, a special assistant state attorney general, and state senator, all before being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1978 from the Tuscaloosa-based 7th Congressional District. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1986, and served until retirement earlier this year, having chaired at varying times the Senate Appropriations Committee, Intelligence Committee, Banking Committee, and Rules Committee.

Also among those planning to attend the ceremony are Judge Coogler; Steve Marshall, Alabama attorney general; Chief Judge William H. Pryor Jr., U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit; and Jason Shelton, Southeast Sunbelt Regional Administrator, U.S. General Services Administration.

Reach Mark Hughes Cobb at mark.cobb@tuscaloosanews.com.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Tuscaloosa's federal building to be named for Richard Shelby