Harris County Courthouse

Considered one of the most significant courthouses in Texas, the Harris County 1910 Courthouse is on a site that was designated for this purpose by the Allen Brothers, founders of Houston, when they plotted out Houston in 1836. The first session of the Eleventh District Court of the Republic of Texas was held under the trees of this courthouse square in March 1837. During the Civil War, the original courthouse building was converted into a cartridge factory, and the basement became a guard house for Union prisoners of war. The current building was created through a design competition in 1909 for which there were 15 submissions. The competition required that the courthouse had to have a large dome and columned façades, and the winner was a Dallas firm, Lang & Witchell, which used classical revival styling with the prerequisite dome and Corinthian columns on each side of the courthouse. The building consists of a two-story base of pink Texas granite topped with a short, three-story shaft and one-story attic covered in St. Louis brick. Ringed by stone American eagles, the dome is capped with a prominent cupola. In 1952, the building was remodeled for use as the Harris County Civil Courts, a renovation that substantially altered the interior of the building and seriously comprised the interior’s architectural and historical integrity. Recently it has been restored to its original condition for use by a Texas District Court.

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