Colorado County Courthouse

Built in 1891 in Renaissance Revival architectual style by architect Eugene T. Heiner by contractor Martin, Byrne & Johnston.

The Colorado County Courthouse was designed by Houston architect Eugene T. Heiner in the Renaissance Revival style. It was built in 1891 under the guidance of the contractors Martin, Byrnes and Johnston. The floor plan of this three story brick courthouse is laid out in the form of a Greek cross. It features one entrance on the east, west, and south facade and two entrances on the north facade. The original building contained a hipped roof with cresting over each of the dominant masses and a small pediment over the central entrance bay. A truncated hipped roof once featured a tall clock tower rising from the center. In 1909, a tornado destroyed the tower and much of the roof. Subsequent remodeling retained the original three floors but changed the roof and tower. The north and south facade contain a central pavilion, while the east and west facades have a small central projecting bay. The smooth brick walls of the structure rise from a raised stone water table and are accented at the corners with large, rusticated stone quoins. Rusticated limestone belt courses line the walls horizontally, while coupled inset panels and single recessed panels create a vertical link between the window openings. This vertical expression is framed by brick pilasters beginning at the second floor belt course and terminating in an arch above a third floor window. The ornamentation of the various window sizes differs, typically with stilted segmental arches on the first two floors and round arched openings on the third floor. Across the south facade, the tall two-story windows express the two-story space of the district courtroom. The courthouse features a dentiled cornice, a frieze and a wide pediment-like gable across the entire wing. The existing drum and copper dome over the courtroom features clocks on all four sides. One-story additions have been added at the southwest and southeast corners.

1909: The original clock tower and part of the roof blown off in a hurricane and were replaced with the present copper dome in a Classical style. Architect was F. S. Glover.1939: WPA project created basement around the original footings.1951: Two one-story additions were made to the south of the building. Acoustical tile covered the stained glass dome of the District Courtroom, portions of the walls, plaster moldings were removed, and the purled pine woodwork was stained dark.1960: Ceiling tile was replaced in the District courtroom, and the stained glass dome was disassembled and stored in the attic.1972: Elevator replaced1981: Courtroom restored with the glass dome intact.

Current status: Active Courthouse