Marquette County Courthouse

For the courthouse in Wisconsin, see Marquette County Courthouse and Marquette County Sheriff's Office and Jail.

Marquette County Courthouse
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Michigan State Historic Site
Show map of Michigan Show map of the United States
Interactive map showing the location for Marquette County Courthouse
Location	400 South 3rd Street, Marquette, Michigan
Coordinates	46°32′30″N87°23′47″W / 46.54167°N 87.39639°W / 46.54167; -87.39639 Coordinates: 46°32′30″N87°23′47″W / 46.54167°N 87.39639°W / 46.54167; -87.39639
Area	less than 1 acre (0.40 ha)
Built	1904
Built by	Northern Construction Co.
Architect	Charlton, Gilbert & Kuenzli
Architectural style	Classical Revival
NRHP reference No.	78001506 [1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	March 29, 1978
Designated MSHS	August 6, 1976 [2]

The Marquette County Courthouse is a government building located at 400 South 3rd Street in Marquette, Michigan. It designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1976 ^[2] and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. ^[1] The courthouse was the setting of the 1959 film Anatomy of a Murder , directed by Otto Preminger.

History

In 1857, the first Marquette County courthouse, a wooden Greek Revival structure, was built on this site. ^[3] By the turn of the century, that structure had become inadequate. In 1902, voters approved the issuance of $120,000 worth of bonds to construct a new courthouse. The earlier structure was moved off the site, and the county hired Marquette architect D. Fred Charlton (Charlton, Gilbert & Demar/Charlton & Kuenzli) to design the building. Northern Construction Company of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was hired to construct the building. ^[4] The county eventually spent $240,000 to complete the structure; it was completed in 1904. ^[3]

The courthouse was the site of a famous 1913 libel case, where President Theodore Roosevelt won a judgment against Ishpeming newspaper publisher George Newett. ^[2] Roosevelt was awarded six cents, "the price of a good newspaper." Another later case tried here inspired John D. Voelker's novel, Anatomy of a Murder . The 1959 movie version of the novel, directed by Otto Preminger, was filmed in the courthouse. ^[2]

In 1982–84, the courthouse was renovated at a cost of $2.4 million. ^[2] A new courthouse and jail was built nearby, connected by a tunnel, but the 1904 building remains in use. ^[2]

Architecture and design

The Marquette County Courthouse is a Beaux-Arts and Neoclassical structure, with a central three-story mass flanked by two-story wings. ^[3] It is built almost entirely of local sandstone over a steel frame. ^[2] A colossal portico covers the entrance, lined with 23-foot (7.0 m) granite Doric columns from Maine. ^[4] A Doric entablature with copper cornice rings the roofline. A copper dome surmounts the building, and sits above the second-floor courtroom. ^[3]

Inside, the courtroom is finished with mahogany and marble. Mosaic tiles, wool carpeting, and stained glass fill the building. ^[4]

• 
  Marquette County Courthouse c. 1905
• 
  Marquette County Courthouse, 1912
• 
  Dome of Marquette County Courthouse

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
2. "Marquette County Courthouse". Historic Sites Online. Michigan State Housing Development Authority. Archived from the original on December 24, 2012. Retrieved July 13, 2011.
3. Eckert, Kathryn Bishop (2000), The sandstone architecture of the Lake Superior region, Detroit: Wayne State University Press, pp. 131–2, ISBN   0-8143-2807-5
4. Fedynsky, John (2010), Michigan's County Courthouses, Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, pp. 116–7, ISBN   978-0-472-11728-4