History
Construction on the courthouse began in 1837, and both the City of Louisville and Jefferson County governments starting using it in 1842. Slave-trading was held by the courthouse in the 1840s, as were speeches calling for the abolition of slavery. When the courthouse was originally built, it was hoped that it would be the Statehouse for Kentucky. This hope was the goal of James Guthrie, but due to the capital staying in Frankfort, it became known as "Guthrie's folly". It did see some state government use during the American Civil War, when it briefly housed the Kentucky State Legislature when Frankfort was acquired by Confederate forces.
After a fire in 1905, the building was renovated by Brinton Davis. When he visited Louisville in 1948, Frank Lloyd Wright referred specifically to the Courthouse when he said, "Louisville's architecture represents the quality of the old South; we should not build this type of building anymore but we should keep those we have left." This was after efforts in the 1940s to demolish it for urban renewal.
The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. Improvements to the building includes placing a statue of Henry Clay, designed by Joel T. Hart, on the main floors, and extensive renovations in the 1980s. The Jefferson County Courthouse Annex at 517 Court Pl. was listed on the National Register in 1980.
Since the merger of the former City of Louisville with Jefferson County, the building was renamed Louisville Metro Hall and now primarily houses the offices of the Mayor of Louisville Metro. In addition, the offices of the Jefferson County Clerk, the Kentucky Court of Appeals and the Kentucky Supreme Court Justice for the Louisville district are located in this building.
Read more about this topic: Louisville Metro Hall
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