Voters approved a bond package in 1913 to replace the 1883 courthouse, which occupied this site, with a new building that would symbolize the region’s progressive and modern character. Situated in the center of the original public square, Burnett’s rectangular courthouse is an early example of the order-over-podium classical composition. A raised basement and first floor together form a tall base supporting a two-story Ionic order of columns and pilasters at the second and third floors. The cream cast-stone columns, stringcourses, and cornice contrast sharply with the red brick walls. A triple entrance framed by cast-stone pilasters fits completely within the plinth zone. The building is still used for county offices.
Diagonally opposite at 300 Oak the current Taylor County Courthouse (1972, Tittle, Luther, Loving and Lee) is a Brutalist design, inspired by the Boston City Hall (1968). Narrow, rectangular three-story-tall piers support a solid, two-story crown faced with precast concrete panels. The glass curtain walls of the lower three stories are recessed behind the piers, and the piers on all sides reference a peripteral temple, but any civilizing classical analogy is lost on this blunt building. Its effect on the city is made harsher since it sits in an open, two-block-long square flanked by parking lots and with no other buildings nearby to counter its dominating presence.