Illinois Courthouse Adventure, Pt 9 Romanesque

 With Romanesque we find one of the largest groupings of courthouse styles. More accurately, this should probably be called Romanesque Revival, of which Richardson Romanesque is a subset.

Romanesque buildings are chiefly notable for evoking a feeling of the Middle Ages. Stones are often very rough, buildings are massive, suggesting thick walls, half-circle arches on doors and windows are used extensively, castle-like elements like rounded embedded towers, turrets, etc. are also common. Basically anything to make it look picturesque and sort of Medieval.

Classical architecture looked to the pure models of Greek and Roman temples and civic buildings as inspiration. One interesting thing that has been suggested for the aptness of Romanesque as an alternative is that the variability and asymmetry of Romanesque buildings made it much easier to design for the heating systems and utilities of modern life. It was difficult to mask those services and maintain the pure clean form of a Greek temple. With Romanesque, one had a great deal of more freedom.

For me, this is a pretty great category as I really like all the buildings but two. One is just not a good building; the other would have been quite nice but a fire took off the entire roof years ago, depriving the building of a good portion of its design.

Edgar County Courthouse

Paris, Illinois

Viewed: August 13, 2020

Erected: 1892

Architect: Henry Elliot of Chicago

The Edgar County Courthouse most gives the impression of a great big wedding cake. The building is octagonal in shape with entrances on the four angled sides. It is of rough yellow sandstone with a red slate roof. The windows are very narrow but on the second floor are capped with semi circular tops. The steep gables give it an almost fairytale feel. The whole thing is topped by a stacked wedding cake tower supporting an octagonal domed cupola with clock. A large statue of Justice is perched at the top of the cupola.

It's an altogether fantastical building.

Edgar County was named for John Edgar, pioneer and merchant. Edgar had been an officer in English Army but refused to fight the Americans in the Revolution and ended up settling in Kaskaskia.

Mercer County Courthouse

Aledo, Illinois

Visited: October 11, 2020

Erected: 1895

Architect: Miflin Emien Bell

Here's another town and county that I'd never even heard of before we started this adventure (it's just southwest of the Quad Cities). The courthouse is built of sandstone and has three stories. There are two appealing half towers with turrets flanking the entrance over a small columned portico. A lovely square tower with clock and small corner turrets cap of the gabled roof. Nothing terribly extraordinary, I guess, but just a really attractive building on its grassy setting.

Aledo is a railroad town, having built once the rails were extended to this region. Aledo seems to be doing ok, compared to  a number of other rural towns in Illinois. It hosts an annual rhubarb festival that I'm sort of eager to attend.

Mercer County was named for Hugh Mercer, doctor and soldier killed in the Battle of Princeton during the American Revolution.

Pike County Courthouse

Pittsfield, Illinois

Visited: October 9, 2020

Erected: 1895

Architect: Henry Elliot

Here's a smaller (and in my opinion) slightly more pleasing version of the magnificent courthouse in Paris. Without even checking, it is obvious these two buildings share the same architect (as does the courthouse in Jerseyville...see below).

This building is built of sandstone, is more or less octagonal, has covered porticos on its four corners, sports narrow Gothic arched windows on the second floor, has a steep red gabled roof, and is topped by another wedding cake tower with clock and domed cupola. Unlike Edgar County's building, there is no statue of Justice capping off the tower. It's a very handsome building.

Pike County is one of the larger counties in the state and lies between the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers. This area was part of the Judicial Circuit that Abraham Lincoln served, and so Lincoln was a frequent visitor to Pittsfield. As a result, Pittsfield is the city in the United States that has the most direct preserved huildings related to Abraham Lincoln.

Pike County was named for explorer Zebulon Pike.

Christian County Courthouse

Taylorville, Illinoia

Visited: January 2, 2021

Erected: 1902

Architect: J W Caddis

Another really solid building in a pretty nice town. This building is three stories and built of limestone. There's a nice wing projecting out the front with a large arched entrance. There's one really large gable atop this extension and a square clock tower with corner turrets and a copper roofed peak.

This was one of the courthouses that seems to have a soundtrack playing on its grounds--sort of strange but also sort of nice. (Pontiac and Lincoln also had music playing from speakers on the courthouse square.)

Christian County was another county on Lincoln's judicial circuit. There's an odd statue of Lincoln on the courthouse grounds with some pigs. The story is sort of garbled, but apparently when Lincoln was there the courthouse was a small wooden building and pigs were kept under it...and Lincoln used their existence as a defense for some plaintiff.

Christian County is named for Christian County, Kentucky, which is where many of original settlers came from.

Jersey County Courthouse

Jerseyville, Illinois

Visited: October 12, 2020

Erected: 1895

Architect: Henry Elliot

Jersey County Courthouse has the same distinctive Gothic tower that we've seen in Paris and Pittsfield. The building is very similar in many respects, but this one is rectangular rather than octagonal. There are very lovely arched windows on the second floor and very attractive pointed towers on each corner of the facade. There is a large porch with an absolutely magnificent stone staircase leading up to the entrance.

The building is on nice grassy square, but not right on the main thoroughfare as is usually the case, so it seems a little out of the way, even though it faces the post office and the library. Just to the right of the courthouse is a HUGE bandstand or pavilion--probably the biggest we've seen.

Jersey County is named for New Jersey which was the home of many of the early settlers.

Kane County Courthouse

Geneva, Illinois

Visited: November 1, 2020

Erected: 1882

Architects: W.J.Edbrooke and Franklin P Burnham

The Kane County Courthouse is one of the most distinctive and imposing court buildings we encountered. The red stone gives it an presence unusual compared to all the sandstone and limestone buildings. It has three massive arches at the entrance, a solid, almost unornamented facade and a very large (but squat) tower with a squarish copper dome. It is positioned on a significant hill, which adds to its sense of magnitude.

It's clear that Geneva is one of the most affluent cities to serve as a county seat. The downtown area is just packed with upscale retail boutiques and trendy restaurants. It is quite picturesque, positioned just on the banks of the Fox River.

Kane County was named after Elias Kane, Illinois' first Secretary of State.

Ogle County Courthouse

Oregon, Illinois

Viewed: September 11, 2016

Erected: 1891

Architect: George Gamsey

The Ogle County Courthouse is an extremely handsome building built of red brick, which is a departure from the rough stone typical of Romanesque Revival buildings. It does possess an enormously striking rough stone arch above the main entrance and rough stone foundation that gives it the air of a medieval castle, The second story windows have semi circular arches made more dramatic by a stone highlight marking each curve. The projection that houses the entrance has a peaked roof, as do the four towers on each corner. There is a brick square tower in the center of the pitched roof capped by a striking wooden cupola painted white.

Oregon sits right on the Rock River; the city is across the river from Lowden State Park, which holds the magnificent huge Native American statue by Laredo Taft. Also, the courthouse grounds holds probably the nicest memorial for soldiers of any we saw--a bronze and stone soldier's monument also designed by Laredo Taft.

Ogle County was named for Joseph Ogle, a Revolutionary War soldier who settled in Illinois.

Champaign County Courthouse

Urbana, Illinois

Visited: January 6, 2021

Erected: 1901

Architect: Joseph Royer

I fully admit I should like the Champaign County Courthouse more than I do. I lived in Champaign-Urbana for a lot of years in the 1980s and 1990s, so I'm very familiar with it...yet it seems to me completely alien. Over its lifetime, the tower was struck by lightning at least four times resulting in the top  80 feet of the tower being removed. When I was living there the tower stopped just above the clock and had a strange open metal pyramidal structure that held a bell. Granted, it looked a little strange, but it is how I came to know the building. Sometime after 2000, the tower was reconstructed to its original height and the Seth Thomas clock was completely restored. It certainly was a worthwhile effort, but somehow I still miss the markedly inferior tower I first knew.

The courthouse is a three-story building constructed of red sandstone and mottled brick. There is an arch at the base of the tower marking the main entrance, arched windows on the third floor, and a very tall clock tower with steep pitched roof. The tower's height is nicely accentuated by soaring  multi-story arched openings just above the roof line. There are also stone decorative carvings at each peak and all around the tower.

The building would present a better effect, I think, if it weren't sitting so close to the street. A large modern, though not distracting, addition has been built on the east side of the building. In an understandable but unfortunate bit of donor recognition, the name "Robinson" is inscribed in stone just above the main entrance. Apparently the tower is now known as the "Robinson Tower" in honor of the family that gave most of the funds to pay for the restoration. But as far as I could tell, there was no description of this, and so it is strange to see the seemingly unrelated word "Robinson" carved into stone where one should expect to see "Champaign County Courthouse" if anything at all should be carved into the ediface. Seems to me there could have been a better way to give credit to the Robinsons.

Having lived there for so many years, I dearly love Champaign-Urbana and the University of Illinois so it is hard to know what to objectively say about the area. One might be surprised that the county seat is in Urbana rather than Champaign, Urbana being the older and initially prime city. But the Illinois Central Railroad as built west of Urbana, and the city of West Urbana (later Champaign) became a more important city due primarily to growth related to rail traffic.

Champaign County was named for Champaign County, Ohio, whose county seat is also Urbana.

Coles County Courthouse

Charleston, Illinois

Visited: August 13, 2020

Erected: 1899

Architect: Cornelius Rapp

There are several courthouses in this category with quite similar appearance. This building is highly reminiscent of the courthouses in Aledo and Taylorville, although it seems by far the biggest of the trio. Its size is the main reason for this one ranking a little below the others, only in that the tower seems sort of small and remote relative to the scope of the main building. Otherwise, there's very little to find fault with.

The courthouse is constructed of buff colored limestone. The entrance is marked by three very fine stone arches flanked by two rather nice octagonal towers attached to the facade. The roof is steeply pitched with pavilions in the four corners with their own pitched roofs. And as mentioned earlier, in the center of the building is a thin but quite tall clock tower with its own pitched roof.

Coles County has the distinction of having been the site of the Mad Gasser of Mattoon incidents during the 1940s in nearby Mattoon. For a stretch of time, there were many reports of residents being "gassed" by a mysterious figure. The exact nature of the incidents were not ever explained, but people complained of nausea, drowsiness, etc. even though no one died or suffered any lasting medical consequences. It has never been determined whether there was actually any substance to the phenomenon or if it was just an instance of mass hysteria.

Coles County is named for Edward Coles, second governor of Illinois.

Warren County Courthouse

Monmouth, Illinois

Visited: October 10, 2020

Erected: 1895

Architect: O.W. Marble

In spite of being designed by an architect whose name sounds like it should be some sort of joke, the Warren County Courthouse gives the impression of being super-serious, unfortunately to its detriment.

The building is of red sandstone, three stories with the first floor set partway into the ground. A massive stair rises to a stone porch under which one finds the main entrance. There is a large central gable on the front three sides of the building, arched windows on the top floor, and a large flat-topped tower (which really ought to have a clock but does not).

There's something brutal and crushing about this building. It may be the imposing darkness of the stone. Or perhaps it is the plethora of relics of war all over the grounds. It just doesn't feel like a building one could easily be fond of.

Monmouth was originally to be called "Koskiusco" because the name was drawn from a hat. But leaders feared the name would be hard to remember and to spell, and so Monmouth was suggested by a resident present who had lived in Monmouth County, New Jersey.

Warren County is named for Dr. Joseph Warren, soldier at the Battle of Bunker Hill. He is believed to be the first American officer killed in the American Revolution.

Knox County Courthouse

Galesburg, Illinois

Visited: October 10, 2020

Erected: 1886

Architect: Elijah E Meyers

The Knox County Courthouse has to be one of the greatest disappointments among the courthouses we saw. Expectations were high knowing that this building shares its architect with two of the finest courthouses in the state (in Carlinville and Macomb) and three state capitols. This building would be ok if it weren't or the ungainly top-heavy clock tower.

The building is thee stories, built of buff limestone. It has arched windows on the third floor and a steeply pitched roof. There is a five-story clock tower on the northeast corner that just lacks grace. It swells in circumference above the roofline to house a large clock, tapers a little with a steep roofline, but then is capped with another short tower with its own pitched roof. Overall it gives an impression of clumsiness.

The building sits in a very large park, among the biggest of any we saw across the state. The effect of roominess is accentuated by he lawns of Knox College that sits just opposite the courthouse.

Galesburg is noted for a number of things, but most surprisingly as the place where the Marx Brothers first got their nicknames Groucho, Chico, Harpo, and Gummo. (Zeppo got his name later.)

Knox County is named for Revolutionary War hero Henry Knox.

La Salle County Courthouse

Ottowa, Illinois

Visited: February 7, 2021

Erected: 1883

Architect: Minard Lefevre Beers

I don't believe this is rightly a Romanesque Revival building, but it is rather an outlier and is as much in this as any other category.

Like Romanesque buildings, it is constructed of rough stone and has tons of arched windows and bays. On the other hand, it has a flat roof that makes it seem more Renaissance than Medieval.

Ottawa continues to have a high number of radium-contaminated sites all around town left from when factories existed where women workers applied radium to clock faces to make them glow. The factory was finally closed in 1978.

La Salle County is named for Robert de La Salle, a French explorer who was reportedly the first European to explore the Illinois River territory.

Greene County Courthouse

Carrollton, Illinois

Visited: October 12, 2020

Erected: 1892

Architect: Henry Elliot

Here's the fourth building designed by the same architect as Paris, Pittsfield, and Jerseyville. One can see the similarities, but this building is far less successful in my estimation.

It has the same rough sandstone finish and the blocky stone porch. But it is solidly rectangular, and without the wedding cake tower of the others, it seems entirely earthbound. It doesn't help that, I guess in the interests of energy efficiency, the round arched windows have been blocked up entirely. Even the rectangular windows on the first floor look like they've been reduced in size.

There is a large statue, presumably of "Justice"installed on the top or the roof. I don't know if this is original or if it was a later addition It is a detail that seems awkwardly out or place.

Carrollton is one of the few Illinois cities that I just didn't feel comfortable in, even though I can really come up with any explanation why.

Greene County is named for War hero Nathaniel Greene.

Crawford County Courthouse

Robinson, Illinois

Visited: August 14, 2020

Erected: 1896

Architect: John W Gaddis

Here's a building that was probably very attractive when it was built. but sometime over the years, a fire destroyed the roof and so rather than rebuild in its original configuration, the top was replaced with a flat roof. It would Mae a really imposing high school, but looks rather forlorn as a courthouse.

It has several traits in common with the really lovely Ogle County building--impressive entry arches, red brick, limestone trim, etc. Apparently the original roof was quite steeply pitched with an interesting roof profile. Even though not original to the building, the current stone lettering of "Crawford County Courthouse" is sort of an Art Deco masterpiece.

According to several websites, there was an intention to raise money to restore the original roof; these reports are really quite old, and so I'm guessing that that project has gone no where. I do think the building would be considerably more attractive with the original roof. (And here, unlike in Urbana, it would make at least a tiny amount of sense to carve "Robinson" in the facade.)

Robinson is home to one of the saddest museums I've ever visited: the Heath Museum. Heath Bars were invented there, but Hershey now owns the company and so I think the local pride in the brand has decreased a great deal.

Crawford County was named in honor of William H. Crawford from Georgia who was serving as Secretary of War and Secretary of the Treasury at the time the county was formed.

So that wraps up this large survey of the Romanesque style courthouses in the state. Finally getting to the end of this recap. All that are left are the Modern stye courthouses...but this is by far the biggest grouping, so I may be doing it in smaller pieces to avoid posts as long as this one.

Illinois Courthouse Adventure, Pt 8 Second Empire

The Second Empire style (or just called "French" at the time) was a popular form for public buildings and residences in the second half of the Nineteenth Century. The name comes from the reign of Napoleon III who made some attempt at recreating the French Empire. The redevelopment of Paris was done largely in this style and created its popularity, which was particularly great in the United States.

Second Empire shares many characteristics with Italianate, but adds these primary traits:

• Mansard roof. A mansard roof is a nearly vertical roof, often punctuated with dormers. The great benefit of a mansard roof is that it can conceal an entire floor without raising the illusion of the roofline.
• Pavilions are another characteristic of Second Empire. Pavilions are portions of the building, often in corners, that break the facade of the overall building. In particular, pavilions have specialized roof treatments that can break the uniform roof line.
• Second Empire buildings give a striking impression of largeness, mass, and grandeur.

There are some fantastic examples of Second Empire design here. There are also two buildings that will be described here that, now that I've done some more research, don't strike me as particularly Second Empire, but I foolishly followed a reference in regard to them, and I think they probably belong in some category already described (but actually, I don't know what that would be, either!)

Henry County Courthouse

Cambridge, Illinois

Visited: October 10, 2020

Erected: 1879

Architects: Thomas Tolan and Son and Brentwood Tolan of Fort Wayne, Indiana

This enormous pile is completely glorious. It has all the requirements: monumental presence, elaborate ornamentation, mansard roof, pavilions, tower, and tall narrow windows. It constructed of red brick on a foundation of rough stone. Window surrounds are stone. The highly decorative tower houses a clock at its very top. The complete lack of landscaping of any sort and the absolute clear flatness of its setting accentuates the enormous size and impact of this building. There is a modern addition attached to the back, but was done in a way that makes it completely invisible when observing this building from the front.

One small ding to the overall effect is the 1950's era metal awning over the entrance door.

The plot of ground on which the courthouse sits is quite large on its own, but the impression of isolation is emphasized by the fact that the building faces two more full blocks of parks and playing fields. Added on to this is the fact that Cambridge is a very small community with a very tiny and largely vacant Main Street, and the existence of this building in this place seems even more wonderful but at the same time absurd.

Henry County was named for patriot Patrick Henry.

McDonough County Courthouse

Macomb, Illinois

Visited: October 10, 2020

Erected: 1873

Architect: Elijah E. Meyers

Here's another almost ideal example of Second Empire architecture...and an absolutely charming one at that. The two story brick building rests on a very high rough stone foundation, requiring a very large entry staircase. Windows are ornamented with stone, the arched front entry is surrounded by a small columned pediment, and the building is topped with a highly decorative tower, which surprisingly, does NOT have a clock.

Macomb has a very nice central square on which the courthouse sits squarely, with well-maintained commercial buildings facing it on four sides. The courthouse in Cambridge is certainly more breathtaking, but this one is in many ways more pleasing in that it fits so nicely into its setting. (The Henry County Courthouse, amazing as it is, feels sort of alien to its setting.)

Architect Elijah Meyers was also responsible for the courthouses in Macoupin and Knox Counties, as well as the capitol buildings in Michigan, Texas, and Colorado. I've been to all of these structures, and this one might just be the best of the lot. Maybe that is appropriate, as Macomb is viewed as the capital of this area of Illinois known as Forgottonia, so perhaps it is fitting to see this courthouse as Forgottonia's capitol building!

The courthouse grounds are exceptionally well-groomed, with landscaping credit given to the community group Macomb Beautiful. It seems that the fortunes of Macomb might not be so terrific these days, the city really does represent itself well to visitors.

McDonough County is named for Thomas McDonough, an American commodore who defeated the British on Lake Champlain in 1814.

Ford County Courthouse

Paxton, Illinois

Visited: January 5, 2021

Erected: 1906

Architect: Joseph Royer of Urbana

This is one of the buildings that I can't quite categorize. It lacks any sort of mansard roof, but the decorative details do give it sort of a French feeling. In any case, I think it's a great success.

The building is a of a dark brick with generous stone and concrete trim. It has a small dome that is so perfectly round and compact that it almost gives the impression of being an old style observatory. This is one of the best landscaped courthouse squares in terms of having a sufficient quantity and variety of mature trees. It's really a pretty setting.

It is slightly removed from the Main Street of Paxton, which appears to be doing ok. One wouldn't exactly notice it, but apparently Paxton sits on something of a rise, and so there's quite a deep dig for the Illinois Central train tracks to pass through. When they were built, the Illinois Central tracks from Chicago to Cairo was the longest rail line in the world.

Ford County is really a rather ridiculous shape, and was formed rather late in the chronology of defining the counties. Apparently it was carved out when residents complained that they were too far away from the county seat of Vermilion County. At least that is the story, although looking at a map, that really isn't a satisfactory explanation for how it ended up the shape it is. (It's sort of like Oklahoma with a strangely inexplicable panhandle going straight north.)

Ford County is named for Thomas Ford, eighth governor of Illinois who fought in the Mormon War.(that doesn't come up very often!)

Livingston County Courthouse

Pontiac, Illinois

Visited: January 5, 2021

Erected: 1875

Architect: J.C. Cochrane of Chicago

(I have to apologize for the photograph; my iPhone was unintentionally in some strange perspective setting, so the building looks strangely skewed.)

The Livingston County Courthouse is gorgeous. The building is constructed mainly of red brick, but with extensive stone trim and white painted cornices and decorations. The front has a small porch at the entrance with 4 pairs of white columns. Each corner has a pavilion, each with a pronounced mansard-roofed tower. In the center of the building is an ornate tower, also with a mansard roof peak and a clock face on four sides. The three large arched windows above the entrance are particularly attractive, trimmed in red brick, but sharply set off by stone areas of negative space.

Pontiac was unexpectedly busy with traffic and people out and about in the various shops. We were there in the dead of winter and so there was a very nice civic ice skating rink set up in the block next to the square.

Pontiac is home to a surprising number of museums, including a museum dedicated to Oakland and Pontiac vehicles.

Livingston County is named for Edward Livingston, who was a mayor of New York, and a United States Senator from Louisiana.

Morgan County Courthouse

Jacksonville, Illinois

Visited: October 12, 2020

Erected: 1879

Architect: Gordon Paine Randall

Here is a monumental building. Built of coarse limestone, it is mainly of two stories. The entrance is marked by three stone arches. On either corner of the front facade is a large tower. Each has an impressive mansard roof, the taller one on the left has a full extra story and also houses a large clock. There's a very narrow decorated pillar at the rear which must be a smokestack, but it looks like something a lot fancier.

Looking at the picture now, I'm sort of questioning why I don't hold this building in higher regard. I think the setting has something to do with it. Jacksonville has a really large central square, and this building would be far more suitable there. As it is, it is on a rather small side street, facing a couple of run down commercial buildings, so it is deprived of the sort of pride of place it deserves.

I like Jacksonville, but it seems a little down on its luck. It is the home of Illinois College which played a critical role, along with a couple other church-based Illinois colleges, in the Underground Railroad.

Morgan County is named for Revolutionary General Daniel Morgan, who played a critical role in battles in Quebec and Saratoga.

Montgomery County Courthouse

Hillsboro, Illinois

Visited: January 2, 2021

Erected: 1872

Architect: Gordon Paine Ramsey

If you think this bears a striking resemblance to the courthouse in Jacksonville, you should pat yourself on the back. This seems to be just a slightly modified (and somewhat plainer) version of the same building. This was built a few years earlier, and I wonder if someone from Morgan County saw and liked this building and so went to the architect with a commission to do the same thing, only fancier.

 It is built of brick instead of limestone, and the stone window trim is quite a bit more restrained. But it does have two uneven square corner towers, and although I don't have any evidence to back this up, I would be willing to bet that the now-flat-roofed left tower originally was capped by a mansard roof (or at least intended to be). Like at Jacksonville, there are two extremely skinny but decorative towers at the back of the building.

The setting here, though, is far superior to the location of the building in Morgan County. The approach from the town is very impressive as you drive through an extended business district with the courthouse in full view on the summit of the hill. What is odd, though, is that the town very nearly stops just beyond the courthouse; so from one direction, you see a thriving commercial street, and in the other direction you see a backward looking residential street that peters out rather immediately into open farmland and woods.

Montgomery County was named after Richard Montgomery, a general killed in the Revolutionary War.

Lawrence  County Courthouse

Lawrenceville, Illinois

Visited: August 14, 2020

Erected: 1889

Architects: McDonald Brothers of Louisville, Kentucky

I can't' quite put my finger on it, but the Lawrence County Courthouse is sort of grotesque. It's a building of red brick with stone trim that should be ok. It sits on a very high rough stone foundation and has a rather grand staircase at the entrance to the elevated first floor. Immediately above the entrance is a six story brick tower with clock that is capped with sort of a blunt cap. I can't say anything more specific, but it just seems to lack grace.

It could be as simple as the fact that, this visit being somewhat early in our courthouse quest, we attempted to enter through the ground floor entrance under the entrance staircase and were rebuffed very brusquely by a guard clearly living for the power she held in controlling access to the building during the pandemic. I know it shouldn't impact one's assessment of the building, but one's response to a designed building is largely emotional, so I sadly find it hard to dismiss that memory when thinking of this building.

There are several buildings described in previous posts of red brick buildings with green oxidized copper trim (Petersburg and Sullivan come to mind) and I just find it a really unappealing color combination.

As a child, I knew of Lawrenceville only as the center of the popcorn growing industry in the United States.  Popcorn is still grown extensively in the area (I think principally near St Francisville these days), but some county in Indiana has eclipsed Lawrence County in popcorn production.

Lawrence County is named for James Lawrence who commanded the USS Chesapeake during the War of 1812. He is chiefly remembered as the originator of the phrase "Don't give up the ship!)

Shelby County Courthouse

Shelbyville, Illinois

Visited: January 2, 2021

Erected: 1882

Architect: O H Place of Lincoln, Nebraska

The Shelby County Courthouse is a near perfect example of Second Empire architecture, with mansard-like roofline, pavilions on the corners, arched decorative windows, impression of monumental scale and sculpural details. The building is constructed primarily of red brick with stone trim. The central tower has a nice profile and mounting for the clock.

This is another example of a perfectly ok building basically ruined by its placement. A rather busy IL Route 16 highway runs directly in front of the building, with nothing to separate it from traffic but a narrow sidewalk. There is a nice Civil War Monument, but it is isolated in the middle of the highway on a very tiny bit of land opposite. Because there is nothing but concrete around the building, there is essentially no landscaping.

There are two nice statues in niches above the entrance, of Liberty and Justice. Unfortunately, Justice has lost her scale over the years so she has to stand there with her arm extended or no purpose for all time.

The courthouse sits within a few hundred yards of the dam that creates Lake Shelbyville on the Kaskaskia River, and so may claim title as the courthouse closest to a large recreational lake (Although the courthouse in Carlyle, also on Kaskaskia River, might be just as close.

An immaterial point in Shelbyville's favor is that it is actually in Shelby County. There are too many mismatched pairs  of county and. county seat names around the state: Greenville is not in Green County, Carrollton is not in Carroll County, Marion is not in Marion County, Hardin is not in Hardin County, Washington is not in Washington County.

Piatt County Courthouse

Monticello, Illinois

Visited: January 3, 2021

Erected: 1904

Architect: James W Royer of Urbana

Here's another building that defies categorization. It has some Second Empire characteristics, but it has no mansard roof, but it also seems a little too ornamented to simply be Classical Revival. In either category, it only rates as rather middling in my opinion.

The building is  compact three story building, the first floor being stone and the upper floors being red brick, with stone trim. For being such a massive presence on a very small block, the entrances are sort of underwhelming. it would be improved a little with some sort of grander articulation of some sort of mark the entrance.

The building has a small flat round dome of sorts, but it is virtually impossible to see from the ground because of the height of the top of the facade and the steep viewing angle  due to the non-existent grounds. I hope that there is some sort of rotunda or large interior in space where this feature is noticeable; otherwise it is a big waste of effort.

The best thing about Monticello (and in my opinion, one of Illinois' greatest treasures) is the glorious Robert Allerton Park which is located a short distance southwest of town and is now run as a conference center by the University of Illinois. Robert Allerton was a scion of a wealthy Chicago family, failed as an artist, and spent his life and fortune creating a faux English manor house on farm and swamp land along the Sangamon River. He created a fantastical place with formal gardens and exotic International sculpture plopped in the middle of Central Illinois' cornfields. The statue of the Sun Singer and the Garden of the Foo Dogs are especially wonderful.

Piatt County is named for James A. Piatt, and early settler. The name was reportedly determined by a coin toss.

Wayne County Courthouse

Fairfield, Illinois

Visited: August 14, 2020

Erected: 1892

Architect: John Gaddis of Vincennes, Indiana

I have to confess, to my shame, that prior to  starting this project, I had absolutely no inkling that there was a Wayne County or a town of Fairfield. I guess I subconsciously knew that there was a physical piece of ground somewhere beyond Mount Vernon, but I had never considered for any instant that it actually was a place (if that makes sense).

Fairfield is nice, non-distinct town in a larger non-distant county. It's courthouse is perfect as it matches these characteristics. The building is of red brick, two stories, tall narrow windows, with a three-story clock tower over the front door. A one-story addition was added across the front at some time; it is a little unfortunate, but was done in such a way that it isn't too noticeable as an addition.

There's an interesting brick arch at the sidewalk marking the entrance to the otherwise open and spacious grounds in the middle of town. There is also a very substantial and attractive brick bandshell.

This building looks more like a small girls' finishing school or similar rather than a court house.

Fairfield sees notable (or maybe more accurately, notorious) because of the bootlegging operations of the Shelton Brothers during Prohibition. They eventually relocated to East St Louis and came to control all illegal mob operations in the state from Peoria to the full south.

Wayne County is named for "Mad" Anthony Wayne, American Revolution war hero.

White County Courthouse

Carmi, Illinois

Visited: September 19, 2020

Erected: 1884

Architects: Clark and Pyne

The White County Courthouse is a nice old building, but not with a lot of presence. The structure we see as built in 1884, but incorporates within it the original 1828 building. They did a pretty good job of unifying the facade between the original building and the addition. The building is two stories, of red brick with stone trim. The right portion has a hip roof; the left portion has a front-facing gable with the dates of the two buildings inscribed. There's a small white cupola on the left half.

Again, a major detractor for this building is that it is right on the sidewalk on the busy highway that serves as Carmi's Main Street. The rear and side of the building have been made into parking lots, with asphalt running right up to the building. The lack of grounds are emphasized unnecessarily because directly across the street is a gloriously beautiful historic house, the James Robert Williams House, sitting on beautifully shady and landscaped grounds.

It's a little bit surprising to. me that this courthouse wasn't replaced at sometime in the first part of the Twentieth Century, as the fortunes of the area around Carmi were greatly enhanced by significant discovery of oil in the Wabash River bottoms.

White County is named for early Illinois politician, Leonard White. White was the owner of the notoriously awful salt mines in Equality. Curiously, it was also his idea to move the border of Illinois northward to include the area that subsequently became Chicago (which otherwise would have ended up in Wisconsin.)

Our biggest architectural categories still remain:  Romanesque and Modern.