Getting into murky territory here. There are several buildings that have Italianate characteristics, but Italianate was a style that applied mainly to residences, so Italinate courthouses are sort of sketchy. The boundary with Second Empire buildings is sort of unclear as the examples in Illinois are not at all that pure. So this first post will be about buildings that seem "mostly" Italianate, and I'll follow it up with a post featuring the somewhat more elaborate Second Empire buildings.
- Italianate design appeared in Britain at the very beginning of the nineteenth century. The style grew from roots in classic architecture, but valued the picturesque over the formal.
- Italianate designs were derived from medieval Italian villas and farmhouses, valuing a sense of asymmetry.
- Belvederes were a frequent feature of Italianate houses (and at least one Illinois Courthouse)--a belvedere is like a cupola, but usually square and generally large enough that a person could stand in it.
- Italianate structures are indicted by very wide overhanging eaves, with highly decorative supports and brackets.
- These overhangs give an impression of many buildings having flat or nearly flat roofs.
- And most prominently, Italianate buildings have very tall and narrow windows.
I would say that only the courthouse in Johnson County can be said to be solidly Italiate, even though the other examples share some combination of these traits. The Second Empire buildings in the next post have similar characteristics, but are generally a lot more flamboyant.
Washington County Courthouse
Nashville, Illinois
Visited: December 29, 2016
Erected: 1884
Architect: John Seylor
The courthouse is a simple but attractive building sitting on the central square of Nashville. It's a two story brick building with white trim. It has tall narrow windows, wide eaves, an arched entry, and a low hipped roof. It has had a couple single story additions on either side.
The building is in remarkably good condition, with several renovations over the years, the most recent being considerable brick and grounds work around the entrance plaza.
There doesn't see to be a lot to say about Nashville. It is of personal significance only in that my Grandma spent a lot of time there as a young girl living and doing work for her grandparents. Though they were both from Mascoutah, my Grandfather seems to have done significant courting of my Grandma in Nashville.
Washington County is named for George Washington.
Johnson County Courthouse
Vienna, Illinois
Visited: September 9, 2020
Erected: 1870
Architect: Joseph Frick
Now here, at least, is a lovely example of Italianate, in the sleepy town of Vienna (pronounced here "VYE-en-a"). There are arched narrow windows, wide overhang, carved brackets, and a handsome belvedere with clock. It's sitting a little awkwardly on a plot sloping away form the Main Street.
This photo may not picture the actual front of the building, although it looks pretty uniform from all sides, as the day we visited as the same day as a city-wide garage sale, and most of the grounds were covered with various booths and stands selling junk. (One dumb craft I remember particularly was a guy who cut up 2x4s and hammered them together in a very crude shape of a pumpkin and painted them bright orange. It reminded me of when I was young and Dad was doing wood projects, I would try to fashion things out of the remnants. The results were always rather crude as I wasn't allowed to saw anything myself, so made do with what ever random pieces of wood I could find. These pumpkins reminded me of something I might have made when I was 7 or 8 years old. In other words, they looked completely idiotic.)
Johnson County is in the heart of the Shawnee National Forest and is one of the more traditionally scenic areas in Illinois. Vienna was a very early settlement and its existence predates the growth of the coal industry in the area.
Johnson County is named for Richard M. Johnson who fought in the Indian Wars and was reportedly responsible for killing Tecumseh. He later served as Vice President of the United States.
Schuyler County Courthouse
Rushville, Illinois
Visited: October 10, 2020
Erected: 1883
Architect: Edwin O. Falls of Toledo, OH
The Schuyler County courthouse is set, unusually diagonally from the central town square (a layout similar to that in Winchester). The building is brick and of two stories. The second floor appears to be significantly higher ceilinged than the first, presumably because the courtroom is on the second floor. The entrance is in set under three arches forming an imposing balcony about the door.
The chief element of notice is the clock tower, set on the front right corner. There's something about the tower that looks slightly ungainly; perhaps it is too big--both in area and in height. It looks strangely out of balance in a way that in other asymmetric facades should be picturesque. Also perhaps because the facade itself is so regular in design, the absence of a paired tower on the left is especially noticeable. As is traditional with so many courthouses, the tower houses a large clock.
Rushville seems to be a prosperous community. The Central Park is memorable for having one of the largest and most substantial bandshells we came across.
Schuyler County was named after Philip Schuyler, soldier in the American Revolution from New York, but more famous now probably as the father of the Angelica, Eliza, and Peggy Schuyler sisters of the musical Hamilton.
Boone County Courthouse
Belvidere, Illinois
Visited: February 5, 2021
Erected: 1855
Architect: S. W. Smith of Chicago
One of the older courthouses still in active use, the Boone County Courthouse sits on a rise facing a large city park, but somewhat removed from the downtown commercial area. It is a two story brick building with tall narrow windows and bracketed eaves. It has a smallish wooden tower with cupola above the double arches of the main entrance.
The main building is still pretty much intact, but the overall effect is marred a little by a series of unsympathetic additions and appendages that have been tacked on to it.
Boone County is named for Kentucky pioneer Daniel Boone.
Carroll County Courthouse
Mount Carroll, Illinois
Visited: October 11, 2020
Erected: 1858
Architect: William B Olmsted and Peter A Nicholson of Chicago
Mount Carroll is one of my favorite places in the state. It's a beautiful little village high on a hill above Carroll Creek, which is a bigger stream than it sounds.
The courthouse itself is sort of a mess. The oldest part (on the far left in the picture) is the original structure (and the part that I most Italianate). It's a pretty massive three story structure with a tall cast iron staircase leading to an entrance on the second floor. A courthouse annex was built in `1895, and then at some later point a third building (with white columns) was built in between to connect the two. The result is just a non-sensical hodge-dodge.
Nonetheless, the overall feel of Mount Carroll is really lovely. There's a small commercial district with some good shops and restaurants, a charming Carnegie Library building, and lots of great 19th century houses. Like so many courthouse squares, there is a large Civil War monument. It is unique in that the area required to inscribe all the names was figured incorrectly, and so a supplemental monument was added to hold the names that wouldn't fit on the original.
The abandoned but picturesque campus of Shimer College is just south of town, and a little further out is the Timberlake Playhouse, the oldest summer theater in Illinois. Mount Carroll also is home to an absurd attraction called the Raven's Nest. It has been closed since Covid so I'm not sure when we'll actually get to go inside, but from what I've seen so far, it rather defies description.
Mount Carroll is also noteworthy as the place we were first introduced to Chicken George served with Jane Sauce.
Carroll County is named after Charles Carroll of Carrollton, signer of the Declaration of Indepedence.
Next up: Second Empire Courthouses
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