In 1959, Judge Allen announced her retirement from active service to the United States 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. During an official unveiling of a portrait honoring Judge Allen’s career held on October 15, 1959, Justice Potter Stewart of the U.S. Supreme Court noted that Judge Allen's distinguished career included 15 years of service for the Citizens of Ohio, followed by 25 years of service at the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. From the struggles of securing the vote, through 1959, Justice Stewart remarked that Judge Allen then remained "the first and only woman to hold that high judicial office."

Captured in the photo is Judge Allen (center); joined by her eldest sister, Emeritus Dean of Women at The Ohio State University, Esther Allen Gaw (far right), and United States Senator Frank J. Lausche (second in on the left). Chief Justice of the 6th Circuit, the Hon. Thomas F. McAllister (far left), captured the spirit of Judge Allen's legacy by stating the following:

"The heart and mind of Florence Allen will flame for generations as a beacon for thousands of young women who will take their rightful places in government, in the practice of the law, and in judicial service - and lawyers and judges yet unborn will read the words she has written in the endless, ever-old, and ever new quest for justice."