The Civil Courts Building is a landmark court building used by the 22nd Judicial Circuit Court of Missouri in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

. The building with its pyramid shaped roof is prominently featured in the center of photos of the

Gateway Arch The Gateway Arch is a monument in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Clad in stainless steel and built in the form of a weighted catenary Catenary arch, arch, it is the world's tallest arch and List of tallest buildings in Missouri, Missouri's ...

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 Kiel Auditorium was an indoor arena located in St. Louis, Missouri. It was the home of the Saint Louis University basketball team, and hosted the NBA's St. Louis Hawks from 1955 to 1968. From 1913 to 1930, the site was home to Charles H. Tu ...

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 descendants of the founding father

Auguste Chouteau René-Auguste Chouteau Jr. (; September 7, 1749, or September 26, 1750 – February 24, 1829Beckwith, 8.), also known as Auguste Chouteau, was one of the founders of St. Louis, Missouri, a successful fur trader and a politician. He and his partne ...

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 at Halicarnassus which was one of the

Seven Wonders of the Ancient World The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, also known as the Seven Wonders of the World or simply the Seven Wonders, is a list of seven notable structures present during classical antiquity, first established in the 1572 publication '' Octo Mundi M ...

. It features 32 Ionic columns. Each of the columns have 6 fluted drums, and a cap, and are about high, feet in diameter. They are made of Indiana limestone.

The roof is made of cast aluminum and is topped by two 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. Some architectural elements from the building have been removed in renovations and taken to the

Sauget, Illinois Sauget ( ) is a village in St. Clair County, Illinois, United States. It is part of Greater St. Louis. The population was 141 at the 2020 census, down from 159 in 2010. Geography Sauget is located at (38.587013, -90.166690). According to the ...

storage site of the National Building Arts Center. During St. Louis PrideFest, the building has lit its columns up in a rotating rainbow pattern. In 2016, the top of the building lit up with 49 purple lights to show solidarity to the victims in the

Orlando nightclub shooting On , 2016, 29-year-old Omar Mateen shot and killed 49 people and wounded 53 more in a mass shooting at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, United States before Orlando Police officers fatally shot him after a three-hour standoff. I ...

. The tradition of Pride started in 2012, when the building was first lit up.

References

{{reflist Government buildings completed in 1930 Courthouses in Missouri Skyscraper office buildings in St. Louis Downtown St. Louis Buildings and structures in St. Louis 1930 establishments in Missouri Mausoleum at Halicarnassus