McLennan County Courthouse

by Joan Carroll

Title

McLennan County Courthouse

Artist

Joan Carroll

Medium

Photograph - Digital Photograph

Description

I am constantly amazed when I first view a new (for me) county courthouse in Texas. This was so true at the McLennan County Courthouse in Waco TX! You just never expect to see this type of architecture in Texas. The Beaux-Arts style building is said to have been inspired by St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome! It sits brilliant white in the sunlight. Noteworthy details include a series of eagles spaced along the base of the dome. On top of the courthouse's dome is a small lantern, crowned by a statue of Themis, the Greek goddess of divine law and justice. The statue is holding the scales of Justice in her left hand and the hilt of a sword in her right. The blade of the sword fell off after a storm and was never replaced. It is seat of Justice for McLennan county organized in 1850 by founders of Waco, to give the young city added strength. Ironically, until the early 20th century, county outstripped city in prosperity. This courthouse (the county's fourth) was built during peak of central Texas' cotton wealth. The renaissance revival design by J. Riely Gordon of Dallas uses steel, limestone, concrete, and marble, with Texas red granite in the rusticated base. The building was completed on March 3, 1902. One hundred years later, in September 2002, McLennan County residents celebrated the centennial of their fourth courts building. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

FEATURED PHOTO, Artists Best Five Artwork Group ABFA Group, 9/6/14

FEATURED PHOTO, Texas Landscape and Landmark Photography group, 9/1/14

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August 31st, 2014

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