The historic Dallas County Courthouse remains as one of the largest Romanesque Revival buildings to be erected in the state of Texas, and also one of the most handsome. Good proportions and interesting massing with cylindrical forms juxtaposed against rectangular forms all contribute to the strength of the architectural statement. The use of arched openings of various proportions is successfully unified on the two narrow facades by two-story arcades comprising dominant central features on each elevation. Noteworthy details further contributing to the visual impact of the design include archivolts (an ornamental moulding or band following the curve on the underside of an arch) in strong relief, slender engaged columns flanking the openings of the upper stories, and decorative tympanums (semi-circular or triangular decorative wall surface over an entrance, door or window, which is bounded by a lintel and an arch) in the two-story range of arches. While the use of stone from state quarries provides local association, the stylistic details are consistent with Romanesque buildings found in other sections of the United States.
The street block on which the 1891-92 courthouse is located has been the site of the nucleus of county government in Dallas County since the founding of Dallas. The first settler of Dallas County was John Neely Bryant, who established himself near the present courthouse square in 1841. The area was incorporated as Dallas County by an act of the Texas Legislature on March 30, 1846. For a time Bryant's log cabin housed the county court under the jurisdiction of Judge John H. Reapan. The first permanent courthouse, and second overall, was a log cabin described as being sixteen feet by sixteen feet with a puncheon floor (a type of flooring made from heavy, roughly dressed timber slabs, often used in rustic or traditional settings) and split log seats. It was located on the northeast corner of the current square.
The third courthouse was a two-story building of brick, fifty feet by fifty feet. Its construction was authorized in October of 1855 and plans were prepared by John J. Good, J.M. Patterson, and W.W. Peak. It occupied a central position in the courthouse square and was received by the press as "most handsome". This structure was almost destroyed in 1860 by a fire which ravaged nearly the entire city. The structure was rebuilt and served the county until 1871, at which time it was sold at "public auction".
The cornerstone for a fourth courthouse was laid in October, 1871. The building, to be constructed of "hard granite" from a quarry six miles east of the city, was two stories in height, and 66 feet by 110 feet with a cost $75,000. In 1880, a fire partially destroyed the building. The walls were, however, left intact and remodeling was accomplished with the addition of a Mansard roof and central tower at a cost of $80,000. The building burned once again on February 15, 1890.
Architect M.A. Orlopp of Little Rock, Arkansas was employed to prepare drawings for the construction of a fifth new courthouse. The project was let to contractor R.L. James on July 23, 1890, for an estimated cost of $276,967.50. The cornerstone block of blue-grey granite, was laid on November 16, 1890. Construction was subsequently halted by a labor dispute in which unskilled laborers struck for a wage of $1.25 an hour for a ten-hour work day. On July 20, 1891, James was relieved of his duties by the commissioners' court which ordered his name chiseled off of the cornerstone. The Fort Worth Daily Gazette, for that date, reported that "the labor element is delighted, as James paid no attention to their demands, and hired union and non-union labor as best suited him." A further source of controversy was a high board fence surrounding the construction site. Having been denounced repeatedly by the Federation of Labor and Farmer's Alliance, it was removed after James' dismissal. Architect Orlopp was retained as architect and job superintendent at a salary of $2,000 after a $10,000 performance bond was posted. The building was occupied in the winter of 1892. Its finished cost was $59,140.00 more than the original estimate. Although a new structure has been built, the Romanesque Revival temple continues to serve the functions of county government to this day. Also known as the Old Red Courthouse, it became the Old Red Museum, a local history museum, in 2007. But in 2021, it was announced that the Old Red Museum would be moving out and the building was being returned into a hall of justice as the Texas Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals took over use of the grand structure and continues this use to present day.
On December 12, 1976, the Old Red Courthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) for its architecture and the continued use of the same site for county government since 1846. All of the information above was found on the original documents submitted for listing consideration and can be viewed here:
catalog.archives.gov/id/40971649
Three bracketed photos were taken with a handheld Nikon D7200 and combined with Photomatix Pro to create this HDR image. Additional adjustments were made in Photoshop CS6.
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