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Butler County Courthouse

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1886, James P. Bailey; 1907 remodeled, J. C. Fulton Architect. Main and Diamond sts.
  • (Photograph by Matthew Aungst)

The county's courthouse sits at the highest point in Butler, looming over the town square with its 190-foot-tall, square central tower. Butler sandstone from the Hobaugh quarry at the end of E. Boyd Street was used for the exterior. The building is enlivened by a variety of arched window shapes, from pointed to semicircular and segmental. Since 1958, some architectural detailing has been lost to exterior repairs, and the interior has been remodeled. James Bailey practiced in Pittsburgh from the 1870s to 1900, and designed a number of buildings influenced by H. H. Richardson, notably the First Presbyterian Church in Beaver ( BE5). Another prolific regional architect known for his churches, John Charles Fulton modernized the Butler Courthouse in 1907. Today, there are two courtrooms in the building and each has been restored. A skywalk joins the older courthouse to the Government Center of 1991 designed by Foreman, Bashford Architects.

Writing Credits

Author: 
Lu Donnelly et al.
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Data

What's Nearby

Butler Eagle Building
Lafayette Apartments (Butler County National Bank)
Lowrie-Shaw House Museum (Senator Walter Lowrie House, Shaw House)
Grace at Calvary Lutheran Church (Calvary Evangelical Presbyterian Church)
Masonic Temple

Citation

Lu Donnelly et al., "Butler County Courthouse", [Butler, Pennsylvania], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/PA-01-BU1.

Print Source

Cover: Buildings of PA vol 1

Buildings of Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania, Lu Donnelly, H. David Brumble IV, and Franklin Toker. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2010, 174-174.

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