Old Martin County Courthouse
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| Old Martin County Court House listed as |
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| U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
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| Location: | 80 East Ocean Boulevard |
| Built/Founded: | 1937 |
| Added to NRHP: | November 7, 1997 |
| NRHP Reference#: | 970001329 [1] |
| Governing body: | Local government Martin County, Florida |
The Old Martin County Court House, now known as the Court House Cultural Center, is located at 80 East Ocean Boulevard in Stuart, Martin County, Florida, and was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on November 7, 1997.
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[edit] National Register listing
- Martin County Court House, Old
- (added 1997 - Building - #97001329)
- Also known as Court House Cultural Center
- 80 E. Ocean Blvd., Stuart (originally it was 100 but this number went to the new complex)
- Historic Significance: Architecture/Engineering
- Architect, builder, or engineer: Chalker & Lund, Phillip, Clarke L.
- Architectural Style: Art Deco, Modern Movement
- Area of Significance: Architecture
- Period of Significance: 1925-1949
- Owner: Local Gov't
- Historic Function: Government
- Historic Sub-function: Courthouse
- Current Function: Recreation And Culture
[edit] Building history
This building was built in 1937 of poured concrete walls with terrazzo floors in the Art Deco style by the WPA as a northern addition to the first Martin County courthouse, which had been built in 1908 as a public school building.[2] The four words, Martin County Court House, were prominently etched into the front of the addition, where they still remain. Because of this, both the National Register and the Cultural Center have retained the two word spelling of courthouse even though the one word version is the preferred one.
In 1954 the county bought a building to the west that had been used as an automobile dealership by Web Ordway Ford and later as an A & P grocery store and converted it into a courthouse annex. At the same time the county extended the original courthouse and the 1937 addition west to abut the annex and joined their hallways. The county also extended the 1937 addition on the east side. Both of these 1954 additions were bland, utilitarian structures of no particular architectural merit.
Later when the county outgrew this assemblage of buildings, it decided to build a new courthouse and constitutional officers complex to the south of the original courthouse and to tear down the original courthouse, all additions and the annex. The City of Stuart, though, with much public support, prevailed on the county commission to save the 1937 addition and to use it as a cultural center. There was some sentiment to save the original schoolhouse building, but this was determined not to be feasible.
[edit] Resources
- Florida's Historic Courthouses by Hampton Dunn (ISBN 0-9653759-5-1)
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ National Register Information System. National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service (2007-01-23).
- ^ Services - Office of Cultural & Historical Programs
[edit] External links
- Martin County listings at National Register of Historic Places
- Court House Cultural Center at Florida's Office of Cultural and Historical Programs
- Martin County Courthouse at Florida's Historic Courthouses Note this website features a picture of 1he 1937 addition shortly after it was built.
- ArchiPlanet Listing
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