The Linn County Courthouse is located on May's Island in the middle of the Cedar River in

Cedar Rapids, Iowa Cedar Rapids () is the second-largest city in Iowa, United States and is the county seat of Linn County, Iowa, Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River (Iowa River), Cedar River, north of Iowa City, Iowa, Iowa City and north ...

, United States. It, along with the Veterans Memorial Building and two other buildings, is a

contributing property In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distri ...

to the May's Island Historic District that 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 v ...

in 1978. The courthouse is the third building the county has used for court functions and county administration.

History

The county's first courthouse was built for $40,000 in 1842 in

Marion Marion may refer to: People *Marion (given name) *Marion (surname) *Marion Silva Fernandes, Brazilian footballer known simply as "Marion" *Marion (singer), Filipino singer-songwriter and pianist Marion Aunor (born 1992) Places Antarctica * Mario ...

. The building was two stories tall and constructed of brick. As Cedar Rapids vied for Marion to be the county seat a second courthouse was built in Marion in 1855. Cedar Rapids deeded a plot of land to the county for a courthouse in 1919. Even though voters failed to support a $1.3 million bond referendum to build the courthouse the board of supervisors continued to plan for a new building. In 1922 voters passed a smaller bond referendum. The present courthouse was designed by

Urbana, Illinois Urbana ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Champaign County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, Urbana had a population of 38,336. As of the 2010 United States Census, Urbana is the List of municipalities in Illinois, 38th-most pop ...

architect Joseph Royer in the Beaux-Arts style. with It was completed in 1925 for just under $500,000. Royer also designed the former county jail that sat behind the courthouse. The building sustained significant damage from a flood in 2008. Renovations of the building were completed in 2014.

Architecture

The Linn County Courthouse is a three-story

Bedford stone Indiana limestone — also known as Bedford limestone in the building trade — has long been an economically important building material, particularly for monumental public structures. Indiana limestone is a more common term for Salem Limestone, ...

structure built on a granite foundation. The building consists of a main block flanked by two short wings. Classical elements are found in the full

entablature An entablature (; nativization of Italian , from "in" and "table") is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and ...

and the protruding, nine-

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...

entrance porch. Ten fluted columns in the

Ionic order The Ionic order is one of the three canonic orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric and the Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan (a plainer Doric), and the rich variant of Corinthian called the composite or ...

support the entablature and

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). Whe ...

. Decorative stone panels separate two floors of windows. A stone

balustrade A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its con ...

surrounds the terrace, and balconies on the first floor windows flank the entrance pavilion. The side elevations and the rear of the building provide a simpler appearance, but the

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 ...

surrounds most of the building. The interior walls were built of

travertine Travertine ( ) is a form of terrestrial limestone deposited around mineral springs, especially hot springs. It often has a fibrous or concentric appearance and exists in white, tan, cream-colored, and even rusty varieties. It is formed by a pro ...

and marble covers the floors.

References

External links

{{NRHP in Cedar Rapids, Iowa Government buildings completed in 1925 Courthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa Historic district contributing properties in Iowa Beaux-Arts architecture in Iowa Buildings and structures in Cedar Rapids, Iowa County courthouses in Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Cedar Rapids, Iowa