The Livingston County Courthouse is an historic building and a longtime judicial center for Livingston County,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, United States. It is located in the county seat of

Pontiac Pontiac may refer to: *Pontiac (automobile), a car brand *Pontiac (Ottawa leader) ( – 1769), a Native American war chief Places and jurisdictions Canada *Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality ** Apostolic Vicariate of Pontiac, now the Roman Catholic D ...

History

The current Livingston County Courthouse is the third building to carry that name. Construction on the present-day courthouse began in late 1874 and was completed late the next year. The courthouse was built after fire consumed the second Livingston County Courthouse on July 4, 1874. The plan for the

courthouse A courthouse or court house is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English-spe ...

was selected from a slate of ten candidate plans. The

County Board of Supervisors A board of supervisors is a governmental body that oversees the operation of county (United States), county government in the U.S. states of Arizona, California, Iowa, Mississippi, Virginia, and Wisconsin, as well as 16 counties in New York (sta ...

noted at the time that the selected plan "cost more money (but) it was the only one which for size, fire-proof qualities, and solidity would answer the purpose, and was indeed, in the matter of taste and elegance, much in advance of any other." However, the author of the 1915 ''The County Archives of the State of Illinois'' called the building "hardly fireproof".Pease, Theodore Calvin. ''The County Archives of the State of Illinois'',
Google Books link
, Collections of the Illinois State Historical Library, Vol. XII, 1915, p. 383. The courthouse

clock tower Clock towers are a specific type of structure which house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another buildi ...

was installed in 1892. It served as the county's primary judicial center until late 2011, when a replacement Law and Justice Center opened across the street. It currently houses county offices that are not court-related.Hoffman, Steve.
Livingston Co. Unveils New Law and Justice Center
, ''

The Pantagraph ''The Pantagraph'' is a daily newspaper that serves Bloomington–Normal, Illinois, along with 60 communities and eight counties in the Central Illinois area. Its headquarters are in Bloomington and it is owned by Lee Enterprises. The name is d ...

'', 2011-10-15. Accessed 2015-08-04.

Architecture

Pontiac IL Livingston County Courthouse9

Livingston County Law and Justice Center

John C. Cochrane John Crombie Cochrane (1835–1887) was a prominent architect in the 19th century practicing in Chicago, Illinois. He formed Cochrane and Garnsey with George O. Garnsey. He began work in Davenport, Iowa in 1856, moving to St. Louis in 1858 aft ...

, a Chicago architect Morris, Jo Ann.
Livingston County Courthouse
", National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form, HAARGIS Database, ''

Illinois Historic Preservation Agency The Illinois Historic Preservation Division, formerly Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, is a governmental agency of the U.S. state of Illinois, and is a division of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. It is tasked with the duty of m ...

'', July 21, 1986, accessed July 9, 2009. designed the Livingston County Courthouse in

Second Empire style Second Empire style, also known as the Napoleon III style, is a highly eclectic style of architecture and decorative arts, which uses elements of many different historical styles, and also made innovative use of modern materials, such as i ...

. The building is symmetrical and rectangular, standing two stories tall. Each of its four corners features a tower and there is also a central clock tower topping the building. Some architectural elements found on the structure include:

quoin Quoins ( or ) are masonry blocks at the corner of a wall. Some are structural, providing strength for a wall made with inferior stone or rubble, while others merely add aesthetic detail to a corner. According to one 19th century encyclopedia, t ...

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...

s, a

mansard roof A mansard or mansard roof (also called a French roof or curb roof) is a four-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterised by two slopes on each of its sides, with the lower slope, punctured by dormer windows, at a steeper angle than the upper. The ...

modillion A modillion is an ornate bracket, more horizontal in shape and less imposing than a corbel. They are often seen underneath a cornice which it helps to support. Modillions are more elaborate than dentils (literally translated as small teeth). All ...

s, belt courses and patterned roof tiles. From the basement to the

eave The eaves are the edges of the roof which overhang the face of a wall and, normally, project beyond the side of a building. The eaves form an overhang to throw water clear of the walls and may be highly decorated as part of an architectural styl ...

s the building stands 55 feet tall and the clock tower sits at 70 feet above the basement.

Historic significance

The Livingston County Courthouse was added to 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 v ...

on November 19, 1986.Livingston County Courthouse
, Property Information Report, HAARGIS Database, ''Illinois Historic Preservation Agency'', accessed July 9, 2009. It was added because it met criteria for inclusion in the areas of politics and government as well as architecture. The building was the seat of judicial activity in Livingston County, Illinois from 1875 until the 21st century, and it is a locally excellent example of Second Empire style.

References

External links

11th Judicial Circuit of Illinois
official site, accessed July 9, 2009. {{coord, 40, 52, 47.6, N, 88, 37, 45.2, W, region:US-IL_type:landmark, display=title

Courthouse A courthouse or court house is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English-spe ...

Clock towers in Illinois Courthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois County courthouses in Illinois Government buildings completed in 1875 National Register of Historic Places in Livingston County, Illinois Pontiac, Illinois Second Empire architecture in Illinois Tourist attractions in Livingston County, Illinois