The 2001 status of the building is now that it went up for sale by the city of Lincoln, Nebraska. This government building was transferred to the ownership of the city of Lincoln, Nebraska when the government of the USA built a new and much larger structure. The original agreement the government had when making such transfers was to require that the buildings only be used for government or charitable uses. Lincoln abided strictly by these regulations much longer than many other cities. The restrictions on use of Government buildings transferred to local use changed after World War II but Lincoln did not hear of the change. They obeyed the original deed of transference.
Although this structure was originally designed by A.B. Mullett, like many of his buildings that were designed and authorized by Mullett, James Hill often changed designs to suit some growing interest in the United States to more gothic elements of design. A.B. Mullett did not believe Gothic design elements should be used in Government buildings. He did enjoy Gothic designs in churches. It is probable that his beliefs on this subject were that the design of a building should show its function. One should be able to go through town and look at a building and know it represents the Republic of the United States of America, that it stands for democratic principals, or that it is just a functional warehouse or appraiser’s stores, or that it is a home or it is an office building of some merchant. It was an early consideration of the “form follows function” concept of designing buildings. So the more gothic features were changes made by James Hill when he took over the offices of the Supervising Architect of the Treasury Department.
The building had served the city for many years filling the status of City Hall for a brief period and then just as extra city offices, and charitable offices. But the needs of the city continue to grow and the building, which is still structurally sound as all of Mullett’s buildings were, even those changed by James Hill, is being offered for sale. The U.S. Government’s original restrictions on use of the building when it was first transferred no longer apply as the Government no longer makes those restrictions. The only restrictions the Government still requires is that if the building is registered as an Historic Building, then the new owners must preserve its structural integrity and in many case retain interior design elements as well.