Wednesday, August 1, 2012

FT. WORTH AREA TOUR, 7/30 - 7/31, 2012


Meridian, 1886.
Architect: J. J. Cane
The clock tower was modified in 1935; the courthouse is GORGEOUS inside and out!  The staircases are the original wrought iron without welding and the courtroom is spacious.  Cute town too!



Glen Rose, 1893.
Architect: John Cormack
Court isn't held here anymore, but the tiny courtroom is well-kept, modern, and ready to use.  Court is now held across the street in a newer building.  Glen Rose is a lovely little town.  



Granbury, 1891.
Architect: W. C. Dodson
Lovely exterior, spacious courtroom inside with an awful paint job!  



There is an old jail from 1885 and the town square was voted as the best town square in Texas by Texas Highways readers.  



Weatherford, 1885.
Architects: Dodson & Dudley
Lovely courthouse with a big, gorgeous courtroom!  The roundabout outside makes it really difficult to park.  We had lunch at the Weatherford Downtown Cafe - yum! Weatherford is a nice town.



Decatur, 1895.
Architect: James Riely Gordon
Gorgeous!  Perfect architecture!  El Castile is an amazing private home that we thought might be the courthouse at first.    



James Reilly Gordon photo, inside of Decatur, architect of this courthouse.  This is the only photo we've seen of him and his courthouses are some of the most decadent ones in Texas - they look like wedding cake buildings!



Montague, 1912.  
Architect: George Burnett
The old jail is next to it on the right.  The jail is from 1927; quiet little town.



Gainesville, 1910.  
Architects: Lang & Witchell
The interior is BEAUTIFUL!  It reminded me of the old Houston courthouse.  



Aaron inside of Gainesville, and the stained glass dome at the top.  



Denton, 1896. 
Architect: W. C. Dodson
Absolutely gorgeous!  Amazing details inside and out.  Denton seems like a cool town! 



Interior of Denton courthouse.



Interior of Denton, looking down a few floors!



Ft. Worth, 1895.
Architects: Gunn & Curtis
GORGEOUS!   Amazing details, inside and out.  This is the only Texas courthouse built by these architects. 
We had a terrific lunch at Vidalia Cafe in the Renaissance Hotel.



Interior of Ft. Worth, looking up at the dome.  This is a gorgeous courthouse! 



Interior of Ft. Worth, looking down.  Love these rotundas! 



Cleburne, 1912. 
Architects: Lang & Witchell
The jail is built into the courthouse.  Stunning interior, lovely exterior.  



Interior of Cleburne - notice the symmetrical marble pieces - holy cow this one is gorgeous inside! 



Cleburne's stained glass dome!



This is the map we've been using to keep track of the courthouses we've seen.  The colors don't mean anything, other than that I wasn't as organized on the east Texas spring break trip, 2011.  The white counties are the ones we have left - as of now, only 14!