Media, Pennsylvania

The original section was completed in 1851 with one courtroom. The structure was later expanded
and altered in 1871, 1913 and 1929. It is generally regarded as one of the handsomest court houses
in the eastern United States. William Jennings Bryan once orated from the front steps and Ronald
Reagan also spoke here.

Princess Anne, Maryland

The first cases to be heard in Princess Anne took place in November, 1742. A wood frame courthouse was erected in Town and stood until 1831 when it burned. The next Somerset County courthouse rose on this site in 1833, this time constructed of brick. It stood for 70 years until it was razed to make room for its Georgian Revival replacement. It is said that some of the bricks from the prior house of justice were salvaged and used in the current building that has now entered its second century of duty.

Reading, Pennsylvania

The current City Hall replaced an overwhelmed old one at Fifth and Franklin streets. In 1925 the
voters by referendum decided upon a $750,000 bond issue for the purpose of securing a site and
erecting a new building. For some reason no action was taken until 1928, at which time the old
High School for Boys was purchased at a cost of $510,000. The 1904 Beaux Arts building was
designed by the Philadelphia firm of Davis & Davis. The imposing granite facade was retained
during alterations. The refurbished City Hall was dedicated in 1929.

Pittsfield, Massachusetts

When the founders of Pittsfield’s Episcopalian church wanted to build their new meetinghouse the land they wanted already had a town-owned structure that was used as a school and town business standing on part of it. In a compromise to build St. Stephen’s Lemuel Pomeroy offered to build a new town hall next door. The plain brick building with a stuccoed front was ready in 1832. It would pick up some styling through the years as it served as Town Hall until 1891 and City Hall afterwards into the middle 1900s when the government shuffled around th ecorner to the old post office. The building was fitted out for use as a bank.

Pottsville, Pennsylvania

David Yuengling opened his Eagle brewery here in 1829 but it was completely destroyed by fire after only two years of operation. He moved up to Mahantongo Street, where operations continue today. The City Hall was a Depression-era Works Progress Administration project and the sleek Art Deco building opened in 1937. The government moved here from a cozy two-story building at 14 North Third Street.

Washington, Pennsylvania

The Italian Renaissance Washington County Courthouse, from the pen of leading Pittsburgh architect Frederick Osterling, stands as one of Pennsylvania’s most magnificent temples of justice. Completed in 1900 at the total cost of $1,000,000, this is the county’s fourth courthouse.  A log structure built in 1787 served as the first county courthouse when the town was still called Basset. Still in use today, the courthouse is constructed of Columbia sandstone from Cleveland, South Carolina granite, iron and steel, brick and cement - all rising 150 feet to a hug, classical dome supporting a larger than life statue of George Washington.

Rock Hill, South Carolina

Rock Hill’s dome-clad City Hall was dedicated in 1992. A time capsule, scheduled to be opened in 2092 was buried in front of the building on Christmas Eve 1992. A town clock was also located between the City Hall and County Library.

Rock Hill Economic Development Corporation commissioned Audrey Flack in 1988 to sculpt the Civitas, a quartet of 22-foot sculptures to stand with two Masonic columns in a landscaped setting, creating a gateway for the city of Rock Hill over on Dave Lyle Boulevard. Civitas is Latin for “civic pride.” The Civitas was designed as a female version of Michelangelo’s “David” to reflect the spirit of Rock Hill’s textile heritage in the clothing and hair, which suggest billowing ribbons of material. A fifth Civitas statue stands in the Rotunda of Rock Hill City Hall.

Asheville, North Carolina

The Asheville City Building is a colorful, massive and eclectic Art Deco masterpiece. Douglas D. Ellington, an architect who came to Asheville in the mid-1920s, designed the eight-story building, which was completed in 1928. Ellington stated that the design was “an evolution of the desire that the contours of the building should reflect the mountain background,” referring to the amazing scenery that surrounds Asheville and serves as the backdrop of City Hall.

Ellington chose building materials that presented a “transition in color paralleling the natural clay-pink shades of the local Asheville soil.” The unusual octagonal roof is covered with bands of elongated triangular terra cotta red tiles. Between the two levels of the roof are angular pink Georgia marble piers between which are precise vertical rows of ornamental green and gold feather motifs.

Greensburg, Pennsylvania

This Beaux Arts tour-de-force is the fourth courthouse for Westmoreland County; fifth if you count the sessions held in Robert Hanna’s tavern when the county was formed by an Act of Assembly on February 26, 1773. Newtown, now Greensburg, was selected as the permanent county seat in 1785 and this spot has always been reserved for the halls of justice.

The imposing four-story structure of light grey Maine granite was erected in 1906. It’s central dome, 175 feet above the ground, is of Italian Renaissance style, one of only two in the world designed by the courthouse’s original architect, William Kauffman. The massive central dome is flanked on either side by two smaller ones above the main entrance, originally covered with ornamental gold and ivory terra cotta. Roof edges and pediments are decorated with stone banisters and ornamental carving and figures.

Inside, beneath the 85-foot domed ceiling, is a vision of quality stonework. English-veined Italian marble decorates the public hall walls as well as the rotunda. Corridor floors and ceilings are laid with varicolored mosaics. Panels are set with marble mosaics in Renaissance patterns. A grand staircase of marble from the first floor opens upward to twin spirals to the second floor. Circular mezzanines on each floor of the rotunda are balustraded in white marble.

Burlington, New Jersey

Lyceum Hall was constructed in 1839 as a public hall for lectures, theatrical productions and cultural programs. It was given to the City in 1851, and housed the municipal government for 140 years. Most present residents know it as Old City Hall. In 1910, the hall was remodeled and stylistically updated under the direction of architect Henry Armitt Brown. The building, once again a cultural center for the arts, is the best example of Neoclassical Revival architecture in the City.

Lancaster, South Carolina

Lancaster’s Neoclassical City Hall was completed in 2000.

Bennettsville, South Carolina

Architect Henry Harrall used elements of the Colonial Revival Style when he renovated the Marlboro County Courthouse in 1950. This is the third structure located on this site since the founding of the town; it was constructed between 1881 and 1885. Robert Mills designed the first building and around it developed one of South Carolina’s largest squares. The mills building was replaced in 1852 and in 1884 a French Empire style courthouse was erected and it remains the cnetral portion of the current building.