- Civil Courts Building
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Civil Courts Building 
General information Status Complete Type Courthouse Location 10 North Tucker Boulevard, St. Louis, Missouri Coordinates 38°37′39″N 90°11′50″W / 38.6276°N 90.1972°WCoordinates: 38°37′39″N 90°11′50″W / 38.6276°N 90.1972°W Construction started 1928 Completed 1930 Cost $4.5 million Height Roof 386 feet (118 m)[1] Technical details Floor count 13 Design and construction Owner State of Missouri Management State of Missouri Architect Klipstein & Rathmann[2] The Civil Courts Building is a landmark court building used by the 22nd Judicial Circuit Court of Missouri in St. Louis, Missouri.
The building with its pyramid shaped roof is prominently featured in the center of photos of the Gateway Arch from the Illinois side as its location on the Memorial Plaza is lined up in the middle directly behind the Old Courthouse.
The building was part of an $87 million bond issue ratified by voters in 1923 to build monumental buildings along the Memorial Plaza which also included Kiel Auditorium and the Municipal Services Building. The Plaza and the buildings were part of St. Louis's City Beautiful plan.
It replaced the Old Courthouse as the city's court building and its construction prompted the descendents of the founding father Auguste Chouteau to unsuccessfully sue the city to get the Old Courthouse back since the stipulation was that it was to always be the courthouse.
The pyramid roof on the top was designed to resemble the Mausoleum of Maussollos which was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It features 32 Ionic columns (8 on each side). Each of the columns have 6 fluted drums, and a cap, and are about 42 feet (13 m) high, 5½ feet in diameter. They are made of Indiana limestone.[3]
The roof is made of cast aluminum and is topped by two 12-foot (3.7 m) high sphinx-like structures with the fleur-de-lis of St. Louis adorned on the chests. These sphinx-like creatures were sculpted by Cleveland sculptor, Steven A. Rebeck.[4]
Some architectural elements from the building have been removed in renovations and taken to the Sauget, Illinois storage site of the St. Louis Building Arts Foundation.[5]
References
- ^ Emporis.com - Retrieved January 10, 2008
- ^ Klipstein & Rathmann - Emporis.com - Retrieved January 10, 2008
- ^ "Civil Courts Building - St. Louis, Missouri" Waymark - waymarking.com - Retrieved January 11, 2008
- ^ Opitz, Glenn B. Dictionary of American Sculptors: 18th Century to the Present. Poughkeepsie, NY: Apollo Books, 1984, page 329.
- ^ http://www.buildingmuseum.org/recovery.htm List of Recovered Buildings
External links
Current Metropolitan Square · One AT&T Center · Eagleton Federal Courthouse · One US Bank Plaza · Laclede Gas Building · Southwestern Bell Building · Civil Courts Building · Bank of America Plaza · One City Center · Park East Tower · Queeny Tower · Park Plaza Apartments · St. Francis de Sales Church · 1010 Market Street · Four Seasons Hotel · Millennium Hotel · Crowne Plaza · Mansion House · Gentry's Landing · Continental Life Building · 500 BroadwayProposed See also: List of tallest buildings in MissouriCategories:- 1930 architecture
- Skyscrapers between 100 and 149 meters
- Courthouses in Missouri
- Skyscrapers in St. Louis, Missouri
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