The Butler County Courthouse is a government building of Butler County located in the county seat, Butler,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. The current structure is the third courthouse to have been built for the county. The original courthouse, built in 1807, was a small structure made of stone.McKnight, W J. “A pioneer outline history of northwestern Pennsylvania.” Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Co., 1905. Page 454. Print. James P. Bailey, who was responsible for the construction of

Old Main Old Main is a term often applied to the original building present on college or university campuses in the United States. The building serves today as home to administrative offices, such as the president or provost, but in its early inception may ...

Geneva College Geneva College is a private Christian college in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1848, in Northwood, Ohio, the college moved to its present location in 1880, where it continues to educate a student body of about 1400 traditional under ...

became the architect of the new courthouse after the second one was destroyed by a fire in 1883. It was built in 1885, and is a three-story, brick and

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

building in an interpretation of the

High Victorian Gothic High Victorian Gothic was an eclectic architectural style and movement during the mid-late 19th century. It is seen by architectural historians as either a sub-style of the broader Gothic Revival style, or a separate style in its own right. Promo ...

style. It features a large central, four-faced clock tower with two double pyramid shaped roofs. ''Note:'' This includes Bailey's courthouse still stands today, and is currently the tallest structure in downtown Butler. The facility includes a Westinghouse elevator installed in the late 50s early 60s, several stained glass windows, a grand staircase connecting the first and second floors. The first and second floors are more designed to be gothic and art deco with several crown moldings, domed ceilings, marble floors and walls, and woodwork as well. The upper two floors have been made into offices and courtrooms. In the early 1990s a new government annex building was constructed beside the courthouse. The two structures are connected via skywalk. The annex building is 5 stories and consists of 2 basement levels, making a total of 7 floors. All 7 levels house offices and courtrooms. The Butler County Courthouse was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1977.

References

External links

NRHP sites for Butler County, PA
County courthouses in Pennsylvania Courthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Gothic Revival architecture in Pennsylvania Government buildings completed in 1885 Buildings and structures in Butler County, Pennsylvania Clock towers in Pennsylvania Butler, Pennsylvania National Register of Historic Places in Butler County, Pennsylvania {{ButlerCountyPA-NRHP-stub

See also

References

External links