Hudson County Courthouse
Hudson County Courthouse | |
Location | 583 Newark Avenue, Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey USA |
---|---|
Coordinates | 40°43′54.2″N 74°3′26.1″W / 40.731722°N 74.057250°W |
Area | 2 acres (0.81 ha) |
Built | 1910 |
Architect | Hugh Roberts |
Architectural style | Beaux-Arts |
NRHP reference No. | 70000385[1] |
NJRHP No. | 1510[2] |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | August 25, 1970 |
Designated NJRHP | June 12, 1970 |
The Hudson County Courthouse or Justice William J. Brennan Jr. Courthouse is located in Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. The six-story structure was originally built between 1906 and 1910 at a cost of $3,328,016.56.[3] It is considered to be an outstanding example of the Beaux-Arts architectural style in the United States.[3]
The courthouse was used as the primary
As of 2019 the courthouse has eight working courtrooms and also houses the offices of the
Construction
The Courthouse was designed by Jersey City native
The courthouse is constructed of granite quarried in Hallowell, Maine.[3] The front of the building is visually dominated by four Corinthian columns and a frieze above the main entrance bearing the inscription "Precedent Makes Law; If You Stand Well, Stand Still."
Interiors
Roberts delegated the assignment of artwork to the muralist
David G. Lowe, writing in American Heritage magazine, described the interior of the building:
The courthouse interior is a rush of color—pearl gray and green-veined marbles, golden light fixtures, yellow, green, and blue paint. Standing in the great central court, one looks up the three stories of the magnificent rotunda to a dome whose outer rim is painted with the signs of the zodiac and whose center is an eye of stained glass worthy of Tiffany. One feels—as one does in the rotunda at the heart of the Capitol in Washington—the dignity of government and the permanence of law.[9]
Restoration
Plans for restoring the courthouse had been proposed even before it fell into disuse. In 1961, the architectural modelist Theodore Conrad proposed converting the building into a new city hall for Jersey City. The plan would have created a mall in front of the building and surrounded it with additional city buildings and a museum.[9] Another proposal would house a branch of the New Jersey State Museum in the building.[10] Conrad led a citizens group that lobbied for the preservation of the building, and got it listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[11] The award-winning restoration project resulted in the courthouse being reopened in 1985 for the use of the civil courts and other county offices.
Renaming
The Hudson County Board of Chosen Freeholders renamed the courthouse in 1984 in honor of Associate Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan, who had served in the building as Hudson County Assignment Judge from 1947 through 1951.[12] Following the 1989 Supreme Court decision in Texas v. Johnson, which Brennan authored, veterans groups petitioned unsuccessfully to have the name removed, but the Freeholders unanimously voted to retain the name.[12]
See also
- County courthouses in New Jersey
- Federal courthouses in New Jersey
- Richard J. Hughes Justice Complex
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Hudson County, New Jersey
References
- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ "New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places - Hudson County" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection - Historic Preservation Office. July 7, 2009. p. 7. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 5, 2010. Retrieved October 14, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e "Hudson County Courthouse, 583 Newark Avenue, Jersey City, Hudson County, NJ". Historic American Buildings Survey.
- ^ "Preservation awards recipients". The Victorian Society in America. Archived from the original on June 1, 2008. Retrieved August 19, 2008.
- ^ "Court House". destinationjerseycity.com. Destination: Jersey City. Retrieved August 23, 2008.
- ^ "Past Presidents". AIANJ. Archived from the original on September 14, 2008. Retrieved August 23, 2008.
- ^ a b c d Raynor, Vivien (February 9, 1986). "ART; THE AMERICAN RENAISSANCE IN THE HUDSON COUNTY COURTHOUSE". The New York Times. Retrieved August 23, 2008.
- ^ Charges graft in Hudson Courthouse. Internet Archive. New York Times. 1911-02-08.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ American Heritage Magazine. Vol. 17, no. 6. Retrieved April 4, 2012.
- ^ "Jersey Court Reprieved". The New York Times. February 5, 1969. p. 36. Retrieved 2008-08-23.
- ^ Dunlap, David W. (August 20, 1994). "Theodore Conrad, 84, Modeler And Architecture Preservationist". The New York Times. Retrieved August 23, 2008.
- ^ a b "Despite Plea, County Will Honor Brennan". The Philadelphia Inquirer. August 13, 1989. p. B08.
The county Board of Freeholders unanimously voted Thursday that the 83-year-old building should continue honoring Brennan, who served as Hudson County's assignment judge from 1947 to 1951.
External links
- Shalhoub, Patrick B (1995). Jersey City. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7524-0255-0.
- Karnoutsos, Carmela; Shalhoub, Patrick. "The First Hudson County Courthouse". Jersey City A to Z. New Jersey City University.
- Karnoutsos, Carmela; Shalhoub, Patrick. "Brennan (William J.) Hudson County Courthouse". Jersey City A to Z. New Jersey City University.