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Monroe County Courthouse

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1902–1903, O. O. Smith. Courthouse Square, corner of Main and Benton streets

The present courthouse is the third one to occupy the square. Though the design is loosely Beaux-Arts Classical, the building's vertical proportions and rusticated stone sheathing refer back to the Richardsonian Romanesque. The cruciform scheme of the design terminates in a double-layered central clock tower. The principal entrance facade is emphasized by a slightly recessed porch within which is a pair of Ionic columns. The square itself, which was densely wooded in the nineteenth century, is now open, and walkways lead from every side and every corner into the building, forming a geometric scheme.

Writing Credits

Author: 
David Gebhard and Gerald Mansheim
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Citation

David Gebhard and Gerald Mansheim, "Monroe County Courthouse", [Albia, Iowa], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/IA-01-SO001.

Print Source

Buildings of Iowa, David Gebhard and Gerald Mansheim. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993, 309-309.

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