Linn County Courthouse (Iowa)
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The Linn County Courthouse is located on May's Island in the middle of the Cedar River in
Cedar Rapids, Iowa Cedar Rapids is a city in Linn County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. The population was 137,710 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Iowa, second-most populous city in Iowa. The city lies o ...
, United States. It, along with the Veterans Memorial Building and two other buildings, is a
contributing property In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic dist ...
to the May's Island Historic District that was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
in 1978. The courthouse is the third building the county has used for court functions and county administration.


History

The county's first courthouse was built for $40,000 in 1842 in
Marion Marion or MARION may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Marion (band), a British alternative rock group * ''Marion'' (miniseries), a 1974 miniseries * ''Marion'' (1920 film), an Italian silent film * ''Marion'' (2024 film), a UK short People a ...
. The building was two stories tall and constructed of brick. As Cedar Rapids vied for Marion to be the county seat a second courthouse was built in Marion in 1855. Cedar Rapids deeded a plot of land to the county for a courthouse in 1919. Even though voters failed to support a $1.3 million bond referendum to build the courthouse the board of supervisors continued to plan for a new building. In 1922 voters passed a smaller bond referendum. The present courthouse was designed by
Urbana, Illinois Urbana ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. As of the 2020 census, Urbana had a population of 38,336. It is a principal city of the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, which had 236,000 residents i ...
architect Joseph Royer in the Beaux-Arts style. with It was completed in 1925 for just under $500,000. Royer also designed the former county jail that sat behind the courthouse. The building sustained significant damage from a flood in 2008. Renovations of the building were completed in 2014.


Architecture

The Linn County Courthouse is a three-story Bedford stone structure built on a granite foundation. The building consists of a main block flanked by two short wings. Classical elements are found in the full
entablature An entablature (; nativization of Italian , from "in" and "table") is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and ...
and the protruding, nine-
bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...
entrance porch. Ten fluted columns in the
Ionic order The Ionic order is one of the three canonic classical order, orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric order, Doric and the Corinthian order, Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan order, Tuscan (a plainer Doric) ...
support the entablature and
parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an upward extension of a wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/brea ...
. Decorative stone panels separate two floors of windows. A stone
balustrade A baluster () is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its ...
surrounds the terrace, and balconies on the first floor windows flank the entrance pavilion. The side elevations and the rear of the building provide a simpler appearance, but the
cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative Moulding (decorative), moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, ar ...
surrounds most of the building. The interior walls were built of
travertine Travertine ( ) is a form of terrestrial limestone deposited around mineral springs, especially hot springs. It often has a fibrous or concentric appearance and exists in white, tan, cream-colored, and rusty varieties. It is formed by a process ...
and marble covers the floors.


References


External links

{{NRHP in Cedar Rapids, Iowa Government buildings completed in 1925 Courthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa Historic district contributing properties in Iowa Beaux-Arts architecture in Iowa Buildings and structures in Cedar Rapids, Iowa County courthouses in Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Cedar Rapids, Iowa