A Video Guide to the Allen County Courts April 20, 2022 Allen Superior Court on YouTube.
In the heart of downtown Fort Wayne sits the Allen County Courthouse. This historic landmark has graced the skyline since 1902 and still houses many of the most visible functions of the Allen County Court system. But not all of the work done by the Courts happens at the Courthouse. The Allen County Courts provide important services throughout the community.
They have many short to long videos and podcasts to the court functions on their YouTube channel.
The first Allen County Courthouse, built in 1831, was deemed to be a safety hazard and was ordered to be replaced by county officers. In response county officials received plans in 1840 for a new courthouse. This building was to be in the Greek Revival style and be comprised of a central building with wings on either side. On the first floor were an entry hall and a large public meeting room in the middle and two offices in each wing. The second floor was comprised on two more offices in each wing and the courtroom. Though county court officials abandoned the building in 1841, officials decided to not use these plans and instead use temporary quarters, until the completion of a differently designed courthouse in 1847.#sociallyhistory
The current building opening was dedicated September 23, 1902 and is credited as one of the best Beaux Arts courthouses in the nation. The Courthouse Green, a one acre plaza on the east side of the Allen County Courthouse was dedicated on October 15, 1999. It was created when the block of buildings along Court Street were torn down. See Courthouse Green at City of Fort Wayne Parks & Recreation.
The centerpiece of every Indiana county in the late 19th and early 20th century was the county courthouse. In Allen County it became apparent by 1890 that the 1861 courthouse needed to be replaced. By the summer of 1897, the previous building had been demolished and the new courthouse was begun. At two in the afternoon on September 23, 1902, exactly 120 years ago today, the magnificent new Allen County Courthouse was dedicated to public service. The citizens of Allen County were extremely confident at the turn of the 20th century and built a majestic courthouse on the scale of a state capital. The courthouse is built out of Bedford Limestone and Vermont Granite and is in the Beaux-Arts architecture-style. Interior decorations include four 25-by-45-foot murals by Charles Holloway, twenty-eight different kinds of scagiola (a plastering technique that creates the illusion of marble) covering 15,000 square feet, bas-reliefs and art glass. Each of the court rooms has its own color scheme. The final cost of the new courthouse was $817,553.59, in today’s money that is over $250 million. It is rumored that the budget for decoration of the new courthouse exceeded the total budget for many of the other courthouses in Indiana. #sociallyhistory
Bert J. Griswold was born in 1873 in Osage, Iowa, and died in Fort Wayne in 1927. A gifted illustrator and cartoonist, he came to Fort Wayne in 1902, working for the Fort Wayne Daily News and the Fort Wayne Sentinel. He later left the newspaper to establish his own advertising agency. In the course of his work as a reporter and cartoonist, he developed a deep interest in the history of Fort Wayne and Allen County. He also became a prominent advocate for the City Beautiful Movement, which worked for the establishment of local parks and boulevard improvements. Griswold wrote short columns for the newspaper about area pioneers and historic buildings, and his efforts culminated in 1917 in the publication of the two-volume Pictorial History of Fort Wayne.
1915 Several Cars lined up on the street Image courtesy of the William H. Willennar Genealogy Center, a service of Eckhart Public Library in the John Martin Smith Miscellaneous Collection. Description A number of cars are lined up on Court Street in Fort Wayne, Indiana in front of a large ornate building. Drivers are posed in the cars, and many people are standing on the sidewalks. A sign draped on the side of a car says, "Chicago Evening American [Comme]rcial Vehicle Run 36". One of the cars has "Stephenson" on the radiator. The reverse side of the photograph has "Chicago ? American Comm. Veh. Reliability Run. Chicago to Fort Wayne and Return. Court Street Fort Wayne 1915". Posted April 28, 2024 on True Fort Wayne Indiana History on Facebook
Street View from Google Maps is not close enough to see the building detail which the 1915 image is showing on Court Street which was on the east side of the building. The same courthouse detail is also on the west side of the bulding on Calhoun Street shown below.
Court Street was removed to create the Courthouse Green and dedicated on October 15, 1999.
Fighting the effects of time, weather and pigeons. Yes, pigeons. It's always the pigeons. The good folks with the Allen County Courthouse Preservation Trust are restoring a piece of our history. Featured in the April issue of Fort Wayne Magazine.
It's #waybackwednesday! Take a look at these then and now photos, courtesy of the Daniel A. Baker Collection in our Community Album. The photos show Calhoun Street south from Columbia Street in Fort Wayne in 1905 and the same view in 2017.
Many of the walls and columns of the Allen County Courthouse are made of scagliola, a faux marble. The scagliola found at the courthouse is of exceptionally high quality and variety, featuring 28 different colors and 24 unique patterns.
Master Craftsman Niel Wiffill maintains the scagliola in the courthouse. He makes small repairs every year to prevent the building from falling into disrepair.
To create scagliola, Wiffill dyes plaster with pigment, then adds glue to the mixture to make the plaster tougher and easier to polish. After the new plaster has dried, Wiffill gently sands down the area until it is smooth and shiny.
The Circuit Court features 3 colors of scagliola, bas reliefs, murals, pediments, and a stained glass dome. The bas reliefs represent the different aspects of war, the accompaniments of Peace, and peaceful pastimes. The murals were painted by Carl Gutherz and feature the themes “Founders of Laws,” “Justice Prominent,” and “Court as Mediator.” The pediments represent the four seasons.
Touring the Courthouse is a great summer activity! Check out the majestic views and learn more about this piece of local history. Stop by for a personal walking tour, or schedule a guided tour with a trained docent!
The Courthouse is open Monday – Friday from 8:00am–4:30pm Booklets for self-guided tours are available for no cost at the security desk. To schedule a tour with a docent, email courthouse@co.allen.in.us or call (260) 449.4246. A donation of $5 per person is recommended for guided tours.
These bas reliefs in the alcove of Superior Courtroom 2 were created by Wm. Barth and Robert Staak and represent the creation of the canal as a new means of transportation.
“Old methods of transportation”
“Breaking ground for the stupendous undertaking of joining the waters of Lake Erie with the Mississippi River by means of ‘the Wabash and Erie Canal’”
It's #waybackwednesday! Here is a nighttime skyline view of familiar landmarks surrounding the Allen County Court House in Fort Wayne, Indiana. This photo is courtesy of the Harter Postcard Collection in our Community Album:
Page 3 of the 4 page article THE ALLEN COUNTY COURTHOUSE PRESERVATION TRUST PRESENTS A WALKING TOUR OF THE ALLEN COUNTY COURTHOUSE states: The statue on the top of the dome is Lady Liberty. She is thirteen feet eight inches tall and made of copper. The statue rotates to face the wind. As part of the restoration project, Miss Liberty was taken down, refurbished by the WPC Roofing & Sheet Metal Co. of Fort Wayne and restored to the top of the courthouse in 1998.
On Sept. 27, 1947, steeplejack Joe Miller of Wabash supervised a team of men who removed the statue “Miss Liberty” from its perch atop the Allen County Courthouse. The project took nearly 11 hours as it was removed from the dome and slowly lowered on a cable to a truck parked on Court Street, an area that is now part of the Courthouse Green. It was the first time the copper statue – around 13 feet tall – had been removed from the courthouse since its installation 47 years earlier. It was constructed as a weather vane.
Further on in the article:
Over the years, various repairs were made to the works that allowed the statue to act as a weather vane. In the 1960s, the sword Miss Liberty held in her left hand fell to the roof. According to a 1996 Journal Gazette story by Nancy Vendrely, the sword was stored in the basement but later disappeared. It was replaced in 1994, but positioned differently from what is seen in photos from the 1930s and '40s. In the photos, the sword pointed up; the replacement pointed down. The statue was removed in 1995 ahead of a five-month restoration project that repaired damage to its left hand, right wing and left foot. After repairs, including restoring three fingers that had fallen off and fixing what appeared to be bullet holes, she was placed on the first floor of the courthouse while the building was undergoing repairs. Miss Liberty was returned to the courthouse dome in April 2001 – sword pointing up.
Learn the history and preview the grandeur of the Courthouse at the Allen County Courthouse Preservation Trust, Inc. Entered on the Register of Historic Places in 1976, the Courthouse was further distinguished in 2003 as a National Historic Landmark.
The current courthouse exterior is impressive, inside gets national recognition. More than 15,000-square feet of scagliola, or faux marble made from plaster, adorns columns, walls, pilasters and moldings. Read World-Class County Courthouse with photos back to late 1800s published February 20, 2014 and June 19, 2014 with a couple different photos both by Tom Castaldi on History Center Notes & Queries blog.
Restoration Celebration Saluting 100 years of justice at the Allen County Courthouse was a 16-page special insert with photos, history, and stories in the September 22, 2002 The Journal Gazette newspaper.
“Free Title Day” ceremony was at 2:30PM on January 1, 1940. Photos of the guide cover and pages was posted January 1, 2019 by The History Center on Facebook.
Go on a History Center Tour with a trained docent or self-guided tour. Tour lasts approximately one hour and a donation of $2 per person is recommended. To schedule a tour, contact the Allen County Courthouse Preservation Trust office at (260) 449.4246 or email.
Little courthouse upkeep Scaffolding goes up for repairs on murals, stained-glass windows - From 1995 to 2002, the county spent $8.6 million, most of it from private donors, restoring the Allen County Courthouse... by Frank Gray published January 17, 2017 in The Journal Gazette newspaper.
Primetime39 - May 19, 2017 Season 2017 Episode 1418 | 27m 33s Topic - Allen County Courthouse Preservation Trust Guests - Robyn Zimmerman, Executive Director, Allen County Courthouse Preservation Trust; Don Oxsee, Board Member, Allen County Courthouse Preservation Trust
PrimeTime39 - August 9, 2019 Season 2019 Episode 26 | 26m 52s History of the Allen County Bar and Courts. Guests - Rachel Blakeman, Donald Doxsee, and Jack Lawson. This area’s only in-depth, live, weekly news, analysis and cultural update forum, PrimeTime 39 airs Fridays at 7:30pm. This program is hosted by PBS39’s President/General Manager Bruce Haines.
Just over 122 years ago, the Allen County Courthouse was dedicated. This architectural masterpiece was a shining symbol of the citizens' progress in a remarkably short time. The dedication ceremony echoed the sentiment that "the wealth, progress, and civilization of the people of any era may be fairly judged by the character of their public buildings." Today, we unravel the story of this building and the Hoagland Masterson resident who crafted it, Brentwood S. Tolan.
To fully appreciate the importance and historical significance of the Allen County Courthouse, it's essential to consider the period in which it was built. In the late 1800s, when the cornerstone was laid, the world was at a fascinating juncture. Germany had only unified within the past 30 years, and the Second Boer War, a conflict between Great Britain and the Boers for control of South Africa, was a global focal point. Former outposts of countries such as the US, Canada, Australia, and even Argentina were rapidly becoming the wealthiest countries on earth, surpassing many of their former European founding countries.
Brentwood was the son of Thomas, a famous architect from Ohio who had made his home in Fort Wayne. Thomas was the architect for the McColloch-Weatherhogg Double House on Berry Street. Soon, though, the duo would form the T.J. Tolan & Son firm, where they helped plan courthouses across the midwest from Ohio to Iowa, including many in our surrounding counties. Thomas passed in 1883, but Brentwood continued the trade, eventually residing at 316 W. Dewald Street. There, he played a pivotal role in planning the Allen County Courthouse.
The Allen County Courthouse was planned to be in its current location as early as 1824 when the original plat included a public square bound by Main, Calhoun, Berry, and Court Streets. Tolan was tasked with designing the fourth courthouse to be in that location. It was constructed with limestone from Bedford and granite from Vermont. It features four murals by Charles Holloway; on the outside are sculptured images and proverbs of the history of Allen County, American government, law, virtue, and industry. At 239 feet, it stood only 50 feet shorter than the U.S. Capital Building in Washington D.C.
Although Tolan passed away in 1923, his design has been described as "[a]n elaborate combination of Greek, Roman, and Renaissance influences, the massive courthouse reflects the exuberant ambition of late nineteenth century America."
Allen County Courthouse Green
715 South Calhoun Street, the historical Court Street was vacated to create the Courthouse Green. It was dedicated October 15, 1999. The Courthouse Green is one acre of lush grass and landscaping on the east side of the Allen County Courthouse in the heart of downtown Fort Wayne. See photo of The Courthouse Green monument on Google map.
Is the east side of the Allen County Courthouse with half-moon walkways, benches, fountains and almost an acre of grass in the heart of downtown. It was dedicated October 15, 1999, after a three-year project that cost about $3 million. Most of the cost came from buying up real estate on the block bordered by Main, Clinton, Berry and Court streets. Court Street ran along the east side of the courthouse, where there is now a pedestrian walkway. Several of the removed buildings were built in the 1800s, including the 1894 neoclassical Dreibelbiss Building from which architectural features were saved for use on the Green. Carved roof vents became the faces of six of the Green's fountains, and carved leaf details are seen on piers around the space. A time capsule was placed in the center of the park to be opened on the anniversary in 2100. Copied from a longer article with photos 1998 to 1999: Creation of Courthouse Green Buildings cleared as block converted into green space in 1999, Corey McMaken, June 28, 2018 in The Journal Gazette newspaper.
For "Throwback Thursday" we picture "Courthouse Green". BTW... Hofer and Davis,Inc. did the boundary and topographic surveys for RATIO ARCHITECTS, Inc. as found on the plaque below, in 1998.
![1915 Court Street Chicago Evening American [Comme]rcial Vehicle Run 36](https://willennar.catalogaccess.com/api/images/2961)
Check out the majestic views and learn more about this piece of local history. Stop by for a personal walking tour, or schedule a guided tour with a trained docent!
