- Marquette County Courthouse
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Marquette County Courthouse
Location: 400 South 3rd Street, Marquette, Michigan Coordinates: 46°32′30″N 87°23′47″W / 46.54167°N 87.39639°WCoordinates: 46°32′30″N 87°23′47″W / 46.54167°N 87.39639°W Area: less than 1 acre (0.40 ha) Built: 1904 Built by: Northern Construction Co. Architect: Charlton, Gilbert & Kuenzli Architectural style: Classical Revival Governing body: Local NRHP Reference#: 78001506[1] Significant dates Added to NRHP: March 29, 1978 Designated MSHS: August 6, 1976[2] The Marquette County Courthouse is a government building located at 400 South 3rd Street in Marquette, Michigan. It designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1976[2] and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.[1] The courthouse was the setting of the 1959 film Anatomy of a Murder, directed by Otto Preminger.
History
In 1857, the first Marquette County courthouse, a wooden Greek Revival structure, was built on this site.[3] By the turn of the century, that structure had becom inadequate. In 1902, voters approved the issuance of $120,000 worth of bonds to construct a new courthouse. The earlier structure was moved off the site, and the county hired Marquette architect D. Fred Charlton (Charlton, Gilbert & Demar/Charlton & Kuenzli) to design the building. Northern Construction Company of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was hired to construct the building.[4] The county eventually spent $240,000 to complete the structure; it was completed in 1904.[3]
The courthouse was the site of a famous 1913 libel case, where President Theodore Roosevelt won a judgment against Ishpeming newspaper publisher George Newett.[2] Roosevelt was awarded six cents, "the price of a good newspaper." Another later case tried here inspired John D. Voelker's novel, Anatomy of a Murder. The 1959 movie version of the novel, directed by Otto Preminger, was filmed in the courthouse.[2]
In 1982–84, the courthouse was renovated at a cost of $2.4 million.[2] A new courthouse and jail was built nearby, connected by a tunnel, but the 1904 building remains in use.[2]
Architecture and design
The Marquette County Courthouse is a Beaux-Arts and Neoclassical structure, with a central three-story mass flanked by two-story wings.[3] It is built almost entirely of local sandstone over a steel frame.[2] A colossal portico covers the entrance, lined with 23-foot (7.0 m) granite Doric columns from Maine.[4] A Doric entablature with copper cornice rings the roofline. A copper dome surmounts the building, and sits above the second-floor courtroom.[3]
Inside, the courtroom is finished with mahogany and marble. Mosaic tiles, wool carpeting, and stained glass fill the building.[4]
References
- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Marquette County Courthouse". Historic Sites Online. Michigan State Housing Development Authority. http://www.mcgi.state.mi.us/hso/sites/9797.htm. Retrieved July 13, 2011.
- ^ a b c d Eckert, Kathryn Bishop (2000), The sandstone architecture of the Lake Superior region, Detroit: Wayne State University Press, pp. 131–2, ISBN 0814328075, http://books.google.com/books?id=b68xzUc0y3IC&pg=PA131#v=onepage&q&f=false
- ^ a b c Fedynsky, John (2010), Michigan's County Courthouses, Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, pp. 116–7, ISBN 0472117289, http://books.google.com/books?id=ogrel7yYnvQC&pg=PA116#v=onepage&q&f=false
U.S. National Register of Historic Places Topics Lists by states Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • WyomingLists by territories Lists by associated states Other Categories:- National Register of Historic Places in Marquette County, Michigan
- Classical Revival architecture in Michigan
- Buildings and structures completed in 1904
- County courthouses in Michigan
- Michigan State Historic Sites
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