The Racine County Courthouse is the seat of justice and

county 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 ...

Racine County, Wisconsin Racine County (, sometimes also ) is a county in southeastern Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, its population was 197,727, making it Wisconsin's fifth-most populous county. Its county seat is Racine. The county was founded in 1836, then a part ...

. The building is located at 730 Wisconsin Avenue, near downtown in the county's seat of

Racine, Wisconsin Racine ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Racine County, Wisconsin, United States. It is located on the shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Root River. Racine is situated 22 miles (35 km) south of Milwaukee and approximately 60 ...

. Built in 1930 and 1931 by the Chicago firm

Holabird & Root The architectural firm now known as Holabird & Root was founded in Chicago in 1880. Over the years, the firm has changed its name several times and adapted to the architectural style then current — from Chicago School to Art Deco to Modern ...

, the

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

-styled building stands eleven stories tall and dominates the city's skyline. With In addition to the county's judicial system, the building also houses the County Executive, whose office is on the tenth floor, and most of the offices for the county government. The 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 July 28, 1980.

History

The present courthouse is the third to serve Racine County. The first, constructed in 1839, was located in the town's market square, today known as Monument Square. Built in a

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...

style, the county building was intended to house "a court-house, a jail, and a building for county offices."Stone, Fanny S
''Racine, Belle City of the Lakes, and Racine County, Wisconsin''
1916. Before it was removed in 1877, this building was moved into the middle of the square so that construction on a replacement could begin on the same site. The building was moved to the west side of town, where it became a fanning mill factory.Miller, George
"Madison Civic Center Controversy Recalls Racine Row 40 Years Ago"

Racine Journal Times The ''Racine Journal Times'' (since 1972 officially styled ''The Journal Times'') is an American daily newspaper published in Racine, Wisconsin. The paper serves the entire Racine County area. History The ''Journal Times'' traces its roots to t ...

, November 10, 1957. The second courthouse was designed by

Henry C. Koch Henry C. Koch (March 30, 1841 – May 19, 1910) was a German-American architect based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Biography Born in Hanover in the Kingdom of Hanover, Koch immigrated as a toddler with his family to the United States. His architect ...

in a

Second Empire Second Empire may refer to: * Second British Empire, used by some historians to describe the British Empire after 1783 * Second Bulgarian Empire (1185–1396) * Second French Empire (1852–1870) ** Second Empire architecture, an architectural styl ...

style, and was completed in 1877. County officials proposed a replacement in 1911, which would have been designed by Bell, Tyrie & Chapman and occupied the same site, but this plan was controversial and was blocked by state statute in 1914. Instead, the courthouse was expanded with the addition of a third floor. Unlike its predecessor, the second courthouse was demolished after being replaced. During construction, the cornerstone of the building was moved to the current courthouse as a historical artifact. Planning for the third and current courthouse started with the creation of a building fund in 1923. Construction began in 1928, when the county selected a full city block, bounded by Wisconsin and College Avenues and Seventh and Eighth Streets, and set it aside for a new county office. This location was the former site of

Racine High School Washington Park High School (also known as Park or Racine Park High School) is a public, four-year high school in Racine, Wisconsin, USA, with an enrollment of over 2,400 students. Its school colors are blue and orange. The school's mascot, the pan ...

, which had closed earlier that year. Chicago architects John A. Holabird and John W. Root, Jr. were chosen to design the building. The courthouse was one of three major civic construction projects that took place between 1930 and 1931, alongside Racine's new City Hall and a new post office. All three of these buildings opened during the same week in July 1931, in a county-wide "Dedication Week" celebration.Wilford, Jeff
Racine's building boom

, August 2, 1998. The Racine County Courthouse is the tallest building in Racine County, standing 157 feet above the street and 164 feet from the base of its ground floor.Wishau, Brenda
"Glad You Asked: Synthetic marijuana; Tallest building in Racine County; Dirty rain"

, November 2, 2010. The building has eleven stories and a basement used for archival storage. Originally, the four uppermost floors were home to the Racine County Jail, and the basement the office of the

Sheriff's Department In the United States, a sheriff is an official in a county or independent city responsible for keeping the peace and enforcing the law. Unlike most officials in law enforcement in the United States, sheriffs are usually elected, although ...

, but both of these moved across the street to the Racine County Law Enforcement Center when it opened in 1982.Balousek, Marv
''Wisconsin's Historic Courthouses''
1998. The relief sculptures on the building's walls were created by

Carl Milles Carl Milles (; 23 June 1875 – 19 September 1955) was a Swedish sculptor. He was married to artist Olga Milles (née Granner) and brother to Ruth Milles and half-brother to the architect Evert Milles. Carl Milles sculpted the Gustaf Vasa statu ...

, in his first American commission. Architecturally, the building has also been noted for the relief sculptures on its bronze elevator doors.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places Buildings and structures in Racine, Wisconsin National Register of Historic Places in Racine County, Wisconsin Courthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Wisconsin County courthouses in Wisconsin Government buildings completed in 1931 1931 establishments in Wisconsin Chicago school architecture in Wisconsin

History

See also

References