The Manitowoc County Courthouse is a three-story domed courthouse located in
Manitowoc, Wisconsin.
It houses the circuit court and government offices of
Manitowoc County, Wisconsin. The building was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places in 1981 and on the State Register of Historic Places in 1989 for its significance as a local example of
Beaux-Arts and
Neoclassical architecture. The courthouse is located in the
Eighth Street Historic District
The Eighth Street Historic District is located in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, United States.
History
The district is Manitowoc's old downtown, with many first stories remodeled, but many historic upper stories intact. Interesting structures include ...
.
History
The current building is the third courthouse to serve Manitowoc County. The first courthouse was a wooden structure built in
Manitowoc Rapids, Wisconsin in 1839. It burnt down in 1852 when an inmate of the adjoining jail started a conflagration. After the fire, Manitowoc replaced Manitowoc Rapids as the county seat.
The second courthouse was a brick structure constructed in 1857 on the same site as the present courthouse. In 1905, the county decided to replace this courthouse to gain more space. The second courthouse was moved a block to the south, where it continued to house a variety of public functions until demolition in 1961 to make way for a new jail and sheriff's department.
The present courthouse was built in 1905-1907. German-born architect
Christ H. Tegen of Manitowoc designed the structure, and the county contracted with George Rickman & Sons of
Kalamazoo, Michigan
Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropolit ...
to construct the building.
The total cost was $238,000.
[Brendemuehl, Alexandra]
"Manitowoc courthouse celebrates 110 years"
''The Herald Times Reporter
''The Herald Times Reporter'' is a daily newspaper based in Manitowoc, Wisconsin and owned by Gannett as part of its ''USA Today Network Wisconsin'' division. The newspaper is distributed primarily throughout Manitowoc County, as Green Bay and Sh ...
'', March 5, 2016. Retrieved January 2, 2020 Tegen would reuse several elements of the courthouse design when he planned the similar 1908
Oneida County Courthouse.
The dome of the courthouse was originally copper and glass, and was nearly identical to the domes of the Oneida County Courthouse and
Grant County Courthouse.
When a severe storm in May 1950 damaged the glass, the dome was rebuilt with stainless steel.
Design
The courthouse is a three story stone Beaux-Arts structure. The exterior walls are gray
Indiana Limestone, with red sandstone foundations. The stone at the foundation level and first floor is horizontally
rusticated, and the first floor doors and windows are arched. The north, east (front), and south facades feature
Ionic columns spanning from the second to the third story. The building is capped with a substantial square
drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...
that supports an octagonal copper and stainless steel dome.
The interior of the courthouse features a large square lobby rising from the first floor to the cupola. The lobby is ornamented with classical columns, marble wainscoting, and ornamental cast metal balustrades lining the staircases and balconies.
The
spandrels below the dome feature
medallions painted by
Franz E. Rohrbeck
Franz Edward Rohrbeck (1852–1919), often referred to as Franz E. Rohrbeck, was an American artist, of Milwaukee, known for his murals in courthouses and other government buildings.
He was born in Berlin, Germany. He graduated from the Berlin A ...
. There is a large canvas landscape painting by Rohrbeck on the second floor depicting the original 1839 county courthouse. Another canvas landscape painting by artist Franz Biberstein depicts a panoramic view of Manitowoc.
References
{{National Register of Historic Places
Courthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Wisconsin
National Register of Historic Places in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin
Beaux-Arts architecture in Wisconsin
Limestone buildings in the United States
Government buildings completed in 1906
1906 establishments in Wisconsin