View source for Jefferson County Courthouse (Birmingham, Alabama)

{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox NRHP
| name         = Jefferson County Courthouse
| nrhp_type    =
| image        = Jefferson County Courthouse Birmingham Nov 2011 02.jpg
| caption      = The courthouse in November 2011
| location     = 716 21st St., N, [[Birmingham, Alabama]]
| coordinates  = {{coord|33|31|16|N|86|48|32|W|display=inline,title}}
| locmapin     = USA Alabama Birmingham#Alabama#USA
| built        = 1929–1932
| architect    = [[Holabird and Root]]
| architecture = [[Art Deco architecture|Art Deco]]
| added        = December 27, 1982
| area         = {{convert|2.3|acre|ha}}
| refnum       = 82001606<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>
}}
The '''Jefferson County Courthouse''' in [[Birmingham, Alabama]] is the main [[county courthouse]] of [[Jefferson County, Alabama]]. It is the county's sixth main courthouse building, and the third in Birmingham. The cornerstone was laid in 1929, and the building was completed in 1932. The prior courthouse was demolished in 1937. The new courthouse was added to the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1982.
== History ==
It was designed by Chicago architectural firm [[Holabird & Root]], a very prominent Chicago firm that designed several early skyscrapers, [[Soldier Field]], among many other great structures.<ref name="nomform">{{cite web|last=Bowsher |first=Alice M. |title=Jefferson County Courthouse |url={{NRHP url|id=82001606}} |work=National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=January 14, 2014 |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/6MbrhWSFY?url=http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NRHP/Text/82001606.pdf |archive-date=January 14, 2014 |url-status=live |date=July 28, 1982 }} ''See also:'' {{cite web|title=Accompanying photos |url={{NRHP url|id=82001606|photos=y}} |access-date=January 14, 2014 |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/6Mbrjzra1?url=http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NRHP/Photos/82001606.pdf |archive-date=January 14, 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>Marjorie Longenecker White (1977) Downtown Birmingham: Architectural and Historical Walking Tour Guide. Birmingham Historical Society</ref>
The courthouse's [[Art Deco architecture|Art Deco]] design features limestone [[bas relief]] panels by sculptor [[Leo Friedlander]] depicting local history and the city's industrial influences, and also includes geometric designs resembling swastikas.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blog.al.com/strange-alabama/2012/05/swastikas_on_the_jeffco_courth.html |title=Swastikas on the JeffCo Courthouse have more to do with prosperity than Hitler |date=May 25, 2012 |publisher=AL.com |author=Beverly Crider}}</ref> The lobby interior features large-scale painted murals by [[John W. Norton]] contrasting the "Old South" to the "New South."
The courthouse adjoins the [[Birmingham Public Library]] on the east side of [[Linn Park (Birmingham, Alabama)|Linn Park]].  It faces across to Birmingham's City Hall, which was completed in 1950. Other public buildings around the park, which serves as a "municipal plaza," include [[Boutwell Auditorium]], the [[Birmingham Museum of Art]] and the Birmingham Board of Education Building.<ref>{{cite book |last=Campbell |first=Cathryn S. |editor1-last=Morris |editor1-first=Philip A.|editor2-last=White |editor2-first=Marjorie Longenecker |title=Designs on Birmingham: A Landscape History of a Southern City and Its Suburbs |publisher=Birmingham Historical Society |year=1989 |pages=54–59 |chapter=A History of Central - Capitol - Woodrow Wilson - Linn Park |isbn=0-943994-14-4}}</ref>
An [[International Style (architecture)|International style]] annex, also dressed in limestone, was built in 1963–64.<ref name="nomform" />
==See also==
* [[Jefferson County Courthouse (Bessemer, Alabama)|Jefferson County Courthouse]], in Bessemer, Alabama, the other active county court facility in 2019.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jccal.org/Default.asp?ID=140&pg=County+Facility+Locations |title=Jefferson County Alabama: County Facility Locations |accessdate=July 17, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://10jc.alacourt.gov/ |title=The 10th Judicial Circuit - Jefferson County, Birmingham and Bessemer Divisions |publisher=State of Alabama Unified Judicial System|accessdate=July 17, 2019}}</ref>  Built in 1919, it is also listed on the National Register, as part of the [[Downtown Bessemer Historic District]].
==References==
{{Commons category|Jefferson County Courthouse (Birmingham, Alabama)}}
{{Reflist}}
{{National Register of Historic Places in Alabama}}
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Birmingham, Alabama]]
[[Category:Government buildings completed in 1929]]
[[Category:County courthouses in Alabama]]
[[Category:Art Deco architecture in Alabama]]
[[Category:Courthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Alabama]]
[[Category:Projects by Holabird & Root]]
{{Alabama-NRHP-stub}}