Blanco County Courthouse

The Blanco County Courthouse in Johnson City, Texas has been serving the citizens of Blanco County since its construction in 1916. It was the first permanent courthouse built after the seat of government moved from Blanco to Johnson City in 1890 following a series of elections.  Earlier posts covered the Old Blanco County Courthouse and its interior.

Henry T. Phelps (Alamo Stadium and Atascosa County Courthouse) was the architect.  Interestingly this is the plainest and most non-descript of the many buildings he designed.  James Waterson, a Scottish stonemason who had also worked on the Texas State Capitol, served as the contractor for the limestone building.

During the Christmas the Courthouse, like many courthouses, is draped in lights and illuminated each night.  Johnson City incorporates the Courthouse lighting ceremony into their Christmas celebrations.

The Courthouse was built of native limestone using a traditional cross-axis layout plan.  The Classical Revival style building appears to have had no serious exterior modifications since its construction although sources indicate repairs to the cupola and roof were undertaken in the late 1990's. Each side of the building features Doric columns and an arched entrance topped with a keystone brick design.   The pediments and other features are said to give it the appearance of having Greek porticos.  

The Courthouse was designated a Texas Historic Landmark in 1983. A Texas Centennial marker denoting the history of Blanco County is installed on the north lawn.



Navarro County Courthouse

The 1905 Navarro County Courthouse in Corsicana, Texas, is in the final stages of a renovation/restoration project that is returning it to its original layout and design. The two-year project is close to being completed.  There have been some surprises and setbacks as the work progressed, but the contractor referred to them as "the nature of the beast" in historic restoration projects. Craftsman of all kinds have applied their skills to every inch of the courthouse. (Corsicana Daily Sun November 30, 2015)

This is Navarro County's fifth courthouse.  Corsicana was named the county seat in 1848 and a log cabin served as the courthouse until a permanent courthouse was built at this site in 1853; 2 years later it would burn and then be re-built. Interestingly, one account of the fire that I read revealed that the fire was an act of arson by criminals who were attempting to destroy the record of their indictments! An elaborate courthouse was completed in 1880 and condemned in 1904 after problems with the foundation shifting. 

 

 

 

J.E. Flanders of Dallas designed the 1905 building in the Beaux Arts Classical Revival style. Built of Burnet red granite and grey bricks its original cost came in at $175,000. A 1964 renovation cost approximately $350,000. The current project is partially funded by a $7.5 million bond referendum passed in 2013 of which $4.7 million was a local match for a Round VII $4.4 million Texas Historic Courthouse Preservation Program grant. Total costs will probably come in somewhat higher as there was the discovery of extensive plaster damage to the walls in addition to the added cost of adding a fire suppression system to bring the building into compliance with city codes. 

 

Inside the Old Blanco County Courthouse

In one of my first posts I visited the Old Blanco County Courthouse. In June (2015) while enjoying the Lavender Festival I went inside the restored building and made a few pictures.  These really don't do the building justice, but they will give you an idea of how the interior was restored. 

This photograph was one of many historical pictures on display. It probably dates to the early 1900's when the building was home to the Blanco National Bank.   Blanco County only used the building as a courthouse for four years before the county seat was moved to Johnson City; after that time the building was used for a variety of purposes.  It is perhaps remembered best for its use as a hospital where many of Blanco County's citizens were born.

                There are two identical staircases that lead to the second floor. 

 

An arched door on each side of the building leads into a cross pattern hallway.

The Blanco County Courthouse Preservation Society operates the Visitor Center on the first floor and there are tenant offices on the second floor at this time.  I stood on the landing for a moment and wondered about all the souls who travelled through the building at some point in its past.  I also gave a thankful thought to those who labored tirelessly for many years to save this remarkable building so that future generations will understand the history of this place!

Atascosa County Courthouse

 

Many years ago, in what now seems like another life, I frequently passed by this courthouse and thought it to be a unique building if not unusual.  And, it is unusual because the Atascosa County Courthouse is the only Mission Revival style courthouse to survive in Texas, per the Texas Historical commission website.  (See the Alamo motif on each tower?)

 

Built in 1912 it underwent restorations inside and out after a large corbel (bracket) fell from one of the towers.  Pictures of the courthouse during renovation and interior afterwards are seen at Fisher Heck's website. Renovations included masonry and tile roof repairs and intensive interior restorations and upgrades to modernize the buildings electrical and mechanical systems.  The restored courthouse was dedicated on June 14, 2003.



The courthouse sits in the middle of a circle driveway with each side being identical.  Only one side is slightly altered as that is where the entrance to the elevator was created.  I could only imagine an elderly or disabled person struggling up the stairs both inside and out!

Texas politics has always been a hot topic and Atascosa County was no exception.  Atascosa was created out of Bexar County (San Antonio) in 1858.  The first courthouse was a log cabin on land donated by Jose Antonio Navarro. The county seat would move to Pleasanton in 1856 where 3 successive courthouses would be built.  In a special election held in 1910 voters choose to move the courthouse to Jourdanton.  As to be expected there was politics, politics, politics.

Henry T Phelps was hired to design the courthouse; he designed 17 Texas courthouses with 15 of those still in use today.   I think this was his only Mission Revival style courthouse. Other projects in Jourdanton include the Atascosa County Jail (1915) and a now extant high school gymnasium (1938) built with assistance from the WPA.  He designed many buildings and homes in San Antonio, including Alamo Stadium and the Nix Professional Building (hospital).

Lee County Courthouse



On a recent visit to Giddings, Texas I was pleased to see that the doorway into the Lee County Courthouse was boarded up!  The building has not been condemned and is not to be torn down, it is undergoing a restoration to correct various problems that have appeared since the previous restorations!  This is the kind of boarded up building I like to see!





The Lee County, Texas Courthouse was completed in 1899 as a replacement for the courthouse that had burned two years earlier. The first courthouse had been completed in 1878 in the Second Empire style with a mansard roof and is described as having been an elegant building.  Prior to its construction there had been a heated debate and election to determine that Giddings would be the county seat; after the first courthouse burned there was another unsuccessful push to move the courthouse.

James Riely Gordon was chosen as the architect and after submitting a bid of $32,270 to complete the building Sonnefield, Emmins, and Abright of San Antonio was chosen as contractors.  Gordon was a prominent 19th century architect who designed many buildings in Texas, but is best known for his courthouse designs.  Most of the courthouses are extant and continue to serve as the seat of county government. Interestingly, he had no formal training as an architect!

Gordon used his version of what was referred to as a Richardsonian Romanesque style as it reflects the style attributed to architect Henry H. Richardson. The historical marker states that the courthouse was designed along the same lines as the New York State Capitol and several buildings at Harvard University.  Its simplicity and lack of ornamentation distinguishes it from earlier courthouses designed by Gordon.  The Lee County Courthouse is almost identical with the Comal County Courthouse designed a year earlier by Gordon.

The courthouse was built on the large lot one block south of the business district of Giddings where the original courthouse was located.  The contractor paid convicts $1 a day to remove the burnt bricks from the burned out courthouse.   Today the courthouse sits serenely in the middle of the park like block; its visibility in this tranquil setting seems to add to its grace and beauty.


I was unable to make out anything on the original cornerstone; details are more evident in a digital photograph.  Construction began in 1898 and the building was completed and received by the Board of Commissioners in June 1899. 

The building has had only minor alterations, thus retaining its original details. Even so, as with most old buildings the courthouse has faced serious problems that threatened its integrity.  As indicated on the cornerstone there was a restoration in 1982; however, basement flooding was threatening the building's structure.  A grant from the Texas Historic Courthouse Preservation program in 2004 funded below grade water proofing, repaired exterior masonry, restored the windows, and replaced mechanical and electrical systems.  In 2010 an emergency grant had addressed stabilizing the foundation and another emergency grant in 2014 provided funds to repair masonry, doors and interior finishes that had been affected by the structural movement of the foundation.

 

The three story building rests on a raised limestone base.  Limestone also is used in the arches, foliated capitals and for the wide band that forms the first and third floor window lintels. The second floor windows have only a single stone lintel.  Blue granite used in the steps and polished columns provides a contrast to the red brick and white limestone.

 

Limestone is such a common building material in Texas that I have honestly never really given it any thought.  Not until I looked at these pictures and realized that it is an architectural element in its own way. I never realized how much detail the limestone blocks have and how that adds to the design of the building.  The workers that cut and laid these pieces were true craftsmen. 

 

 



And, yes I'm anxious to go back to see the courthouse when the boards are removed.  I'm watching the Texas Historical Commission website to see if they will have a re-dedication that's at a time when I can attend.   

San Antonio Post Office and Federal Courthouse

Construction of the United States Post Office and Court House in San Antonio began in 1935 and was funded through the Public Works Administration of the New Deal. It was finished in 1936 and opened in 1937. Local architect Ralph Haywood Cameron designed the building in association with renowned Philadelphia architect Paul Philippe Cret under the direction of the Office of the Supervising Architect of the U.S. Treasury Department.

When it opened the basement and first floor were air-conditioned, making it the first post office in the nation to have air-conditioning. Today this building is known as the Hipolito F. Garcia Federal Building and serves as the courthouse for The United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, but a small post office branch still operates in the lobby. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.

 "Its construction accomplished several goals--generating employment, housing all federal agencies in a single building, and streamlining San Antonio's quickly expanding postal needs.

A skillful example of Beaux-Arts classicism, the U.S. Post Office and Courthouse is indicative of the federal government's goal of expressing democratic ideals through classically derived architecture featuring grand scale, symmetry, and refined details.  The six-story building encompasses an entire city block and is constructed of steel and concrete clad in rich local materials--Texas Pink granite and Texas Cream limestone.  The building is polygonal in plan, centered on a central light court.  Its façade (south elevation) emphasizes a centrally recessed porch behind a screen of six monumental Ionic columns, rising to support an entablature that continues all around the building." (Source: U.S. General Services Administration )

East side of building

 

The building is at the north end of the Alamo Plaza Historic District.  The grounds of the Alamo are just across the street and to the right of the main entrance.  The building gives the appearance of confidently watching over the grounds of the Alamo and at the same time gives a sense of guarding all that our Federal government represents.  

"The grand Beaux Arts federal building was a beachhead of centralized, federal power. Through its front south façade, which faces Alamo Square, it linked Texas’s independent frontier spirit with the order and reason represented by the federal government. 

 (Source: American Institute of Architects )

One of the side entrances

 

In 1937, New Mexican artist Howard Cook won a national mural competition sponsored by the Treasury Department's Fine Arts Section to paint a 750 square foot fresco in the lobby of the Federal Building. "San Antonio's Importance in Texas History" was completed in May 1939 at a cost of $12,000. The 16 frieze panels depict the history of San Antonio. The mural was painted using the fresco technique of paint applied over wet plaster.  The murals were restored in 1999. These murals and the lobby are stunning; I was totally unprepared for their impact when I first visited the building!

     

The building has undergone a $50,000,000 renovation funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act economic stimulus package.  Trivers Associates of St. Louis provided a sensitive renovation that maintained the historical integrity of the building while adding the required modern updates.  The front entrances are now open again and visitors don't really notice the glass partition that guides them into the security check point to enter the building. Light fixtures like the ones shown with the murals were restored, but re-worked to be energy compliant.  Click on the Trivers link to see beautiful pictures of the inside of the building as well as an aerial picture that shows the open interior space of the building.

This building is remarkable, not only in its design and in its history, but also in the fact that it represents preservation and continuation merged together.



Sutton County Courthouse

The Sutton County Courthouse is located in Sonora Texas. This is the only courthouse that Sutton County has had since it selected Sonora as its county seat in 1890. It exemplifies the Second Empire style with its mansard roof, dormer windows, and detailed cornices. As typical with this style of architecture it is based on a square design plan.

The courthouse was designed by Oscar Ruffini.  He and his brother, Frederick Ernst Ruffini, designed many courthouses and public buildings in Texas.  The brothers were from Cleveland, Ohio, but settled in Texas with Oscar in San Angelo and F.E. (or Ernst) in Austin.   F.E. designed many buildings now lost to time, including the Old Main Building on the University of Texas Austin campus.  
 
The design for the courthouse has an interesting story.  Oscar was the supervising architect for the Tom Green County Courthouse (San Angelo) that was designed by W.W. Larmour.  Oscar sent the plans and a photograph of the project to F.E. who modified them for the Old Blanco County Courthouse that was completed in 1886 and for the courthouses in Callahan and Concho Counties.  Oscar took the plans and used them to design the Sutton and Mills County Courthouses.  I have to note that several references referred to this sharing of the original plan as "borrowing" or "used without permission"!

I was amazed at the similarities between the courthouses when I compared Blanco with Sutton.

The years had taken their toll on the courthouse and a comprehensive restoration was undertaken with help from a grant through the Texas Historical Commission.  Missing roof dormers and roof cresting were recreated from historic photographs; all the windows were restored and interior woods stained to match the original stain.  Restoration Associates has pictures on their web site of the gold and copper leaf wall stenciling that was restored and of one of the Diebold vault doors that was painstakingly restored.  Modern enhancements on the interior of the building to the electrical and plumbing systems were sensitively merged into the design to bring the building up to safety codes and modern standards.  VOH Architects have before and after pictures on their web site and the difference is amazing!  I'm grateful that the commitment was made to save the building and restore it rather than to tear it down and re-build.

Old Blanco County Courthouse

West entrance (faces Highway 281)

This is the Old Blanco County Courthouse located in Blanco, Texas.  It was built in 1885-1886 and was officially put into use on January 29, 1886 as the Blanco County Courthouse; however, four years later the county seat would be moved to nearby Johnson City.  The building's many uses in the following eighty years are described at the Old Blanco County Courthouse website.




North entrance

Frederick Ernst Ruffini was the building's architect.  He advertised himself as a designer of courthouses, jails, and public and commercial buildings. He passed away in November, 1885 while this building was still under construction.  Also under construction at that time was another of his designs, the Old Main Building at the University of Texas.



South and east entrances

Preservation efforts began in 1986 after the building had fallen into disrepair.  When townspeople learned that the building was going to be dismantled and moved to a private location they came together in an effort to stop the move.  They were successful and were able to pass a Historic District ordinance to protect other buildings. 

Click here to see a picture of the building with a "Help Save Me" banner and to read the entire preservation story.  This picture is kind, the building looked far worse in reality!  I remember driving by several times and seeing some fund raising effort going on and thinking, "Go People, Go!" and wishing them success.  Now I'm older and wiser and I would pull over and buy a plate of barbeque or whatever to help out a group like this!  I also remember from the news reports that it was a tough battle.  But they were successful and in May 1998 the Old Blanco County Courthouse was rededicated.

In a future post I'll open one of the doors and explore the inside of the building!