|
The 1966 Dallas
County courthouse
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, February 2008 |
The Present
Dallas County courthouse -
Dallas, Texas
Date - 1966
Style - Modern
Material - concrete and steel
The 1966 Dallas County courthouse has been remodeled with a large
addition to the east side. |
|
The 1892 Dallas
County Courthouse "Old Red"
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark
SW corner of the courthouse at Commerce and Houston
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, February 2008
|
The 1892 Dallas
County Courthouse
Date - 1892
Architect - Orlopp & Kusener
Style - Romanesque Revival
Material - Old granite and sandstone
Stood as Old Red Museum of Dallas County History since 2007.
Old Red Courthouse Update:
The Old Red Courthouse is no longer the home of the Old Red Museum.
When construction is completed, it will serve as the new location
for the Texas Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. - Clint
Skinner, July 25, 2022 |
Old Red Courthouse
(Historical Marker)
Designated as public land in John Neely Bryan's 1844 city plat, this
was the site of a log courthouse built after Dallas
County was created in 1846. When Dallas
won election as permanent county seat in 1850, Bryan deeded the property
to the county, and
a larger log structure was erected.
In 1856 county offices occupied a 2-story brick edifice, rebuilt in
1860 after a fire that almost destroyed the city. The fourth courthouse,
a 2-story granite structure erected in 1871, survived one fire in
1880 before it burned again in 1890.
The Old Red Courthouse, the fifth seat of county government, was begun
in 1890 and completed in 1892. Designed by Architect M. A. Orlopp,
it exemplifies the Romanesque Revival style with its massive scale
and rounded arches. The blue granite of the lower floor and window
trim contrasts with the red sandstone of the upper stories. Eight
circular turrets dominate the design. A clock tower with a 4500-pound
bell originally topped the building, but it was removed in 1919. Two
of the four clay figures perched on the roof have also been removed.
To house the expanding county government, a new courthouse was built
in 1965. Some offices remained in the 1890 structure, which was renovated
in 1968.
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1977 |
 |
"Old Red"
as it appeared in 1939
Notice the cabin of Dallas' Pioneer Settler, John Neely Bryan, in
front.
Photo
courtesy TXDoT |
Bird's-eye view
of Dallas' "Old Red" Courthouse in 2006
Photo courtesy C.
DeWaun Simmons, February 2006 |
The central clock
tower, absent since 1919, was reconstructed and completed in the summer
of 2007. It rises 205 feet above the street.
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, February 2008 |
Tower on southeast
corner
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, February 2008 |
The missing two
of the four original griffins were restored to the roof of the courthouse
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, February 2008 |
Texas red granite
column at west side entrance
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, February 2008 |
Detail on the
arches over the west side entrance
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, February 2008 |
Museum sign on
the northwest corner of the courthouse. Old Red Courthouse is now
the Old Red Museum of Dallas County Hstory & Culture
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, February 2008 |
| 1892
Dallas County Courthouse Interior |
Stained glass
transom over west side entrance.
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, February 2008 |
The main staircase
on the south side of the courthouse rises to the fourth floor
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, February 2008 |
Looking down
from the second floor.
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, February 2008 |
End post on the
first floor of the staircase
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, February 2008 |
Displayed in
the center of the first floor is a lighted Pegasus which sat on top
of a Mobil gas station in Casa Linda in east Dallas for fifty years.
Before that, in 1939, it was on display at the World's Fair in New
York. (The original Pegasus on top of the Magnolia
Building in Dallas was larger than this one.)
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, February 2008 |
Second floor
hallway. Each room on the second floor is filled with display cases
and interactive, multimedia kiosks which educate visitors about the
history of Dallas and Dallas
County.
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, February 2008 |
1892
Dallas County Courthouse
Old Postcards |
| 1903
postcard courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/ |
| 1907
postcard courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/ |
| 1908
postcard courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/ |
| 1910
postcard courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/ |
"Old Courthouse
and Cabin of Dallas' Pioneer Settler, John Neely Bryan."
Postcard courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/ |
The old and
new Dallas County Courthouses
Postcard courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/ |
"New &
old County Courthouses & Kennedy Memorial, Dallas, Texas."
1972 postcardourtesy rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/ |
The 1881 Dallas
County Courthouse
|
The 1881 Dallas
County courthouse
Photo from a display case at the Old Red Museum.
- Terry
Jeanson, February 2008 |
The 1881
Dallas County Courthouse
Style - Second Empire
James Flanders, Dallas's most important
19th century architect, built this courthouse out of the remaining
walls of the previous building. Using limestone quarried from White
Rock Creek, it cost $100,000 and was widely believed to be the first
fireproof courthouse in the city's fire-plagued history but unfortunately,
it, too, burned in 1890. Information from the Dallas Historical Society.
- Terry
Jeanson |
The 1872 Dallas
County Courthouse
|
The 1872 Dallas
County courthouse
Photo from a display case at the Old Red Museum.
-
Terry
Jeanson, February 2008 |
The 1872
Dallas County Courthouse
Style - Italianate
Material - Local white limestone
Remodeled in 1881 by James Flanders after the partial fire in 1880
Work began on this courthouse in 1871. After spending $40,000, it
was still unfinished, and it took an emergency act by the state legislature
for funds to continue work. On completion in May 1874, the final cost
had reached $75 - 80,000. It partially burned in 1880. Information
from DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University. - Terry
Jeanson |
The 1855 Dallas
County Courthouse
|
The 1855 Dallas
County courthouse
Photo from a display case at the Old Red Museum.
- Terry
Jeanson, February 2008 |
The 1855
Dallas County Courthouse
This square, brick building, completed in 1856 at a cost of $7400,
survived the fire that devastated most of the businesses in town in
1860, but it was torn down in 1871 and its materials sold for $465.
Information from the Texas/Dallas History & Archives Division, Dallas
Public Library. - Terry
Jeanson |
|
|
HOME
