Allen County Courthouse (Indiana) - Architectural Details

Architectural Details

The Beaux-Arts architecture-style structure includes such features as four 25 by 45-foot (14 m) murals by Charles Holloway, twenty-eight different kinds of scagiola covering 15,000 square feet (1,400 m2), bas-reliefs and art glass. Each of the five court rooms has its own color scheme.

Atop the building is a 255-foot (78 m)-high copper-clad domed rotunda, itself topped by a 14-foot (4.3 m) statue wind vane of Lady Liberty. The larger than life statue has feet that would wear a woman's shoe size of 28.

The building materials include Bedford Limestone and Vermont granite with Italian marble details. A tunnel was constructed to connect the Courthouse with the City-County Building located across the street. The Courthouse also houses a fallout shelter underground. The skylights originally built into the building were covered during World War II and replaced with artificial light.

The 2001 National Historic Landmark Nomination says in its opening paragraph: "An elaborate combination of Greek, Roman, and Renaissance influences, the massive courthouse reflects the exuberant ambition of late nineteenth century America."

• Interior of the courthouse rotunda

• Exterior of the courthouse rotunda

• Scagliola in the Allen County Courthouse

• Scagliola in the Allen County Courthouse

• Pediment and finial figure