Harris County Courthouse
The site of the 1910 Harris County Courthouse (address: 301 Fannin Street, Houston, Texas) has served as the courthouse square for Harris County since the completion of the first county courthouse, a two-story pine log structure, in 1838. Later courthouses were constructed on the site in 1851, 1860, and 1884.
The present structure, completed in 1910, served as the fifth Harris County courthouse. The building features a Neoclassical style design. Outstanding details include the domed roof, ornate central projections with Corinthian columns, and elaborate ornamentation of terra cotta, limestone and masonry. Building materials include pink Texas granite and light brown St. Louis brick.
Shortly after a new criminal courthouse was built east of the courthouse square in 1952, the 1910 Courthouse was remodeled and used as the Harris County Civil Courts Building. Since then, the county has constructed several buildings on the surrounding city blocks to house functions once accommodated within the 1910 Courthouse.
By 2003, the 1910 Courthouse was completely vacated. Between 2009 and 2011, the building's exterior and its interior public spaces were restored to their original appearances.
Currently home to the First Court of Appeals and the Fourteenth Court of Appeals, the 1910 Courthouse is open weekdays 8:00am–5:00pm. Self-guided tour brochures are available from the security personnel.
Now in its second century of service, the 1910 Courthouse is an outstanding example of civic architecture and an enduring symbol of Harris County's dynamic growth in the early part of the twentieth century.
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