The Old Monroe County Courthouse is a historic courthouse building in

Monroeville, Alabama Monroeville is the county seat of Monroe County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 census its population was 5,951. Monroeville is known as the hometown of two prominent writers of the post-World War II period, Truman Capote and Harper Lee, w ...

that served as the

Monroe County Monroe County may refer to seventeen counties in the United States, all named for James Monroe: * Monroe County, Alabama *Monroe County, Arkansas * Monroe County, Florida * Monroe County, Georgia *Monroe County, Illinois *Monroe County, Indian ...

courthouse from 1903 to 1963. Old Monroe County Courthouse, Alabama

It is significant as an Alabama literary landmark due to its association with

Harper Lee Nelle Harper Lee (April 28, 1926February 19, 2016) was an American novelist best known for her 1960 novel ''To Kill a Mockingbird''. It won the 1961 Pulitzer Prize and has become a classic of modern American literature. Lee has received numero ...

and

Truman Capote Truman Garcia Capote ( ; born Truman Streckfus Persons; September 30, 1924 – August 25, 1984) was an American novelist, screenwriter, playwright and actor. Several of his short stories, novels, and plays have been praised as literary classics, ...

, both of whom spent their childhood in Monroeville and featured the courthouse in their work. Capote mentions it in his ''

A Christmas Memory ''"A Christmas Memory"'' is a short story by Truman Capote. Originally published in '' Mademoiselle'' magazine in December 1956, it was reprinted in ''The Selected Writings of Truman Capote'' in 1963. It was issued in a stand-alone hardcover edit ...

'' and it inspired the fictional courthouse in Lee's ''

To Kill A Mockingbird ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' is a novel by the American author Harper Lee. It was published in 1960 and was instantly successful. In the United States, it is widely read in high schools and middle schools. ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' has become ...

''. The

film adaptation A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dial ...

of Lee's novel was heavily influenced by the courthouse, with production designers measuring and photographing the building and then recreating a close duplicate of the interior on a

sound stage A sound stage (also written soundstage) is a soundproof, large structure, building, or room with large doors and high ceilings, used for the production of theatrical film-making and television productions, usually located on a secured movie or ...

for filming of the courtroom scenes. The producers originally wanted to use the actual courthouse in Monroeville as the movie set, but due to the modernization of the town since Lee's birth in addition to the poor audio quality in the courthouse, they made the backlot in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

instead. ''See also:'' Due to the accuracy of the recreated courthouse in Hollywood, many Alabamians still believe that the film was shot in Monroeville. The Old Courthouse in

is now a theater for many plays on "To Kill a Mockingbird" as well a museum dedicated to multiple authors from Monroeville, including Lee. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, and was designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 2021. The courthouse is now one of the Monroe County Museums and is operated as the Old Courthouse Museum. The building has been restored to a 1930s appearance and also features exhibits about Capote and Lee.

References

External links

Old Courthouse Museum
- Monroe County Museums {{National Register of Historic Places National Register of Historic Places in Monroe County, Alabama Government buildings completed in 1903 County courthouses in Alabama Courthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Alabama To Kill a Mockingbird Museums in Monroe County, Alabama National Historic Landmarks in Alabama