| Title |
Shelby County Courthouse (1885) |
| County |
Shelby |
| City |
Center |
| Address |
124 Austin Street |
| Zip |
75935 |
| Current Use |
Active Courthouse |
| Owner |
County |
| Service Dates |
1886-1994 |
| Constructed |
1885 |
| Architect |
John J. E. Gibson |
| Contractor |
John J. E. Gibson |
| Style |
Romanesque Revival |
| Square Feet |
|
| RTHL Note |
1969 |
| RTHL |
Yes |
| SAL Note |
1981 |
| SAL |
Yes |
| NR District |
|
| NR Note |
1971 |
| NR |
Yes |
| HD Eligible |
No |
| Description |
Designed in an early Romanesque Revival style and constructed of red brick. The two-story courthouse has a cruciform plan with a main east-west axis and two-story pavilions in the center of the north and south facades. A frame cupola rises from the center of the main gable roof. The courthouse is given its distinctive character by the detailed brickwork on the cornice, stringcourses, window hoods and the twelve diminutive buttresses and turrets (or tourelles) with rounded ends that resemble chimney stacks. |
| Modifications |
1974: Interior remodeled.1983: slate roof and copper gutters replaced.- ISTEA Grant - Comprehensive plan to restore the Shelby County Courthouse square: exterior restoration will be performed in the courthouse, 1908 fire station, c. 1912 records building and c. 1923 bandstand. Work will also include adding new sidewalks in historic locations, removing non-historic landscaping, and adding new period lighting, building illumination and utilities for the visitors center. Project is scheduled to be let in Jan. 1998. |
| Deed Covenant Expiration |
|
| Federal Grant Project |
|
| Federal Grant Year |
|
| State Grant Project |
|
| State Grant Amount |
|
| State Grant Year |
|
| Historic Structure Report Date |
|
| Historic Structure Report Author |
|
| Master Plan Date |
2024 |
| Master Plan Author |
|
| Historic American Buildings Survey |
|
| County Population (1995) |
|
| Easement |
Easement |
| Easement Executed |
9/10/1984 |
| Easement Expiration |
1/1/1994 |
| Master Plan |
|
| Architect Firm |
|
| Bibliography |
The People's Architecture |
| Construction Docs |
specifications (1884 Shelby County Commissioner's Court Minutes, THC does not have a copy but another copy may exist in the WPA files at Center for American History at UT) |
| Interior Images |
|
