Jefferson County Courthouse

This article is about the 1932 courthouse at Linn Park. For other uses, see Jefferson County Courthouse (disambiguation).

Architects' rendering of the Jefferson County Courthouse

The Jefferson County Courthouse is the seat of government for Jefferson County, located at 716 Richard Arrington, Jr Boulevard North on the east side of Linn Park in downtown Birmingham. This, the county's third courthouse, was completed in 1932. The design was commissioned by the county from the Chicago, Illinois firm of Holabird & Root, and was principally the work of Jack B. Smith, with the Birmingham architect Harry Wheelock, acting as an associate. The reinforced concrete building is clad with granite and limestone in an streamlined Art Deco style. The architects hired Leo Friedlander to design the sculpted relief panels near the roof line. Another Chicago artist, John Norton, painted the large murals depicting the "Old South" and "New South" on either end of the entrance lobby.

A 1962 annex to the north of the original building was designed in a complementary style by Charles McCauley. A restoration and refitting of the entire building was completed in 2002 under the direction of Giattina Fischer Aycock.

The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

References

• White, Marjorie Longenecker (1977) Downtown Birmingham: Architectural and Historical Walking Tour Guide. Birmingham: Birmingham Historical Society.
• Bowsher, Alice M. (July 28, 1982) "Jefferson County Courthouse" National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form.

External links

• 3-D model of the Jefferson County Courthouse by Jordan Herring