Gene Snyder Courthouse

After the terrorist attacks of 9/11, government buildings that were considered potential targets committed to upgrading site security. These security plans included perimeter protection against vehicle attack. FEMA guidelines, released in 2005, provided specifications for walls, berms, trapping pits, and hardened site fixtures to help with the design of this protection. The US Marshals, responsible for Gene Snyder, created a protection plan for the Courthouse.

The grounds are not large around the Courthouse: the building sits close to the sidewalk, beside six lanes of vehicle traffic and two major intersections. Protection against vehicles is needed but a solution could not take up too much space. Foot traffic must move freely down the sidewalk. If there should be an emergency in the building, like a fire, evacuation routes should be clear.

Steel-pipe bollards, deep embedded and filled with concrete, were chosen to protect the courthouse since they offer protection against vehicles but do not block people. Such security bollards are strong but unsightly. Their look would not be in keeping with the award-winning historical preservation at Gene Snyder. To cover them, the US Marshals chose the R-7593 architectural bollard.

This 52" bollard’s traditional look is based on classical cannon bollards. In the 17^th and 18^th centuries, spent or captured cannons were buried to create posts or guards. These were often placed around government fortifications. The bollards around the Gene Snyder Courthouse offer a stylized version of these cannon bollards, in keeping with this tradition. The spherical cap emulates a cannon’s cascable knob, and the base sits like a flanged muzzle end on the ground, with decorative molding reminiscent of a cannon’s reinforcement rings.

Traditional cannons were made of bronze or cast iron. However, older cannon bollards did not need to protect against modern vehicles. The cast iron used in old field artillery is hard and somewhat brittle: if a car or truck hit an old cannon bollard, there is a chance it might shatter into small pieces, creating shrapnel. Modern bollards, like Reliance Foundry’s R-7593, are made with ductile iron. This material is less likely to shatter—instead, it is more likely to deform or dent upon impact. Even with these safety upgrades, the weighty presence and historical significance of cast iron is maintained, providing the classical look so important to this historic site.