Hampden County Courthouse

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Hampden County Courthouse

Hampden County
Hampden County, Massachusetts

Hampden County is a non-governmental county located in the Pioneer Valley of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. As of 2004, the population was 461,228....
Courthouse is a historic courthouse on Elm Street in Springfield, Massachusetts

Springfield, Massachusetts

Springfield is the largest city on the Connecticut River, and the seat of Hampden County, Massachusetts, Massachusetts, United States.In the United States Census, 2000, the city population was 154,082....
designed by Henry Hobson Richardson

Henry Hobson Richardson

Henry Hobson Richardson was a prominent United States architect of the 19th century whose work left a significant impact on Boston, Pittsburgh, Albany, New York and Chicago, among others....
. This was the county's second courthouse. The first courthouse was built in 1822, but by the 1860s, popular pressure was developing for a new courthouse. A grand jury

Grand jury

In the common law, a grand jury is a type of jury that determines whether there is enough evidence for a Criminal procedure. Grand juries carry out this duty by examining evidence presented to them by a prosecutor and issuing indictments, or by investigating alleged crimes and issuing Wiktionary:presentments....
indicted

Indictment

In the common law legal system, an indictment is a formal accusation that a person has committed a criminal offense. In those jurisdictions which retain the concept of a felony, the serious criminal offense would be a felony; those jurisdictions which have abolished the concept of a felony often substitute the concept of an indictable offenc...
the county commissioners in 1869 for official misconduct since the courthouse did not have fireproof storage for the registry of deed

Deed

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Springfield, Massachusetts

Henry Hobson Richardson

Grand jury

Indictment

Deed

A deed is a legal instrument used to grant a right. Deeds are part of the broader category of documents under seal. Deeds can be described as contract-like, as they require the mutual agreement of more than one person....
s and the safekeeping of public records. This forced the county to build a new courthouse.

Construction began in late 1871, and the building was dedicated on April 28, 1874. The original building cost $214,068. The site, within the middle of a city block and measuring 160 by 90 feet, cost $75,716. The building is shaped roughly like the capital letter I

I is the ninth Letter of the Latin alphabet. Its English language name is i ....
, with the main facade

Facade

A facade or fa?ade is generally one side of the exterior of a building, especially the front, but also sometimes the sides and rear. The Word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
emphasizing vertical lines, tall windows, and two tall dormers on either side of the bell tower. The facades were built of light gray Monson

Monson, Massachusetts

Monson is a New England town in Hampden County, Massachusetts, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 8,359 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield, Massachusetts metropolitan area....
granite in rough-faced random ashlar

Ashlar

Ashlar is dressed stone work of any type of stone. Ashlar blocks are large rectangular blocks of masonry sculpted to have square edges and even faces....
masonry, with smooth-faced trim. The overall design reflects Richardson's evolution as a designer, showing development from the Brattle Square Church.

The county's growth eventually pushed the probate court and registry of deeds into another building in 1907, and the county built a large addition to the building between 1908 and 1912. This was designed by Richardson's successor firm Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge

Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge

Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge was a successful architecture firm based in Boston, Massachusetts, operating between 1886 and 1915, with extensive commissions in monumental civic and collegiate architecture in the spirit and style of Henry Hobson Richardson....
. The sloping roof and high dormers were eliminated in the remodeling, making it difficult to visualize some parts of Richardson's original design.

The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation....
in 1972. Today, it houses the juvenile and housing courts.