The Duluth Civic Center Historic District comprises five contributing properties. The Saint Louis County Courthouse, completed in 1909, was designed by Daniel Burnham & Co. as the focal point of the complex. In front of it stands a monument to Duluth veterans who died in service overseas. It was designed by Cass Gilbert and installed around 1921. The St. Louis County Jail, designed by Holstead & Sullivan, was added in 1923. Duluth City Hall was designed by the local architectural firm of Shefchik & Olsen and built in 1928. The Federal Building was constructed in 1929.[2]
A fountain was installed in front of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in the late 1960s.[2] An act of Congress officially named the Federal Building for former District Court judge Gerald Heaney in 2007.[6]