Monterey County Court House

Monterey County Court House
Location 240 Church St., Salinas, California
Coordinates 36°40′25″N 121°39′26″W / 36.67361°N 121.65722°W / 36.67361; -121.65722Coordinates: 36°40′25″N 121°39′26″W / 36.67361°N 121.65722°W / 36.67361; -121.65722
Area 1.3 acres (0.53 ha)
Built 1937
Architectural style Modern Movement, WPA Modern
NRHP reference # 08000878[1]
Added to NRHP January 8, 2009

The Monterey County Court House in Salinas, California was designed by local architect Robert Stanton in the Art Moderne or WPA Moderne style, and was built in 1937 using funds provided by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The courthouse features extensive sculpture by Joseph Jacinto Mora. It is currently used by the Monterey County Superior Court.

Stanton designed the courthouse to be built around a previous courthouse, which was demolished, leaving a landscaped courtyard space surrounded by an arcade. The two and three story concrete structure cost $450,000, with two stories in concrete and a glass-and-steel third floor the rear of the complex. It is extensively embellished by Mora's sculpture and reliefs, with comparatively sober detailing around the perimeter and more extensive decoration on the courtyard elevations, with customized relief friezes at the tops of the fluted rectangular arcade columns. Small bronze castings decorate the doors and a large freestanding Mora sculpture in travertine forms the centerpiece of the courtyard. Subjects were drawn from the history of California. There are a total of 62 busts of individuals from California history in the window spandrels, and five travertine reliefs of scenes from Monterey County history.[2]

The courthouse was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 8, 2009.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. ↑ Hiller, Peter (November 2007). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Monterey County Court House". National Park Service. Retrieved 9 May 2012.

Further reading

  • McDevitt, Ray (2001). Courthouses of California: an Illustrated History. Berkeley, CA: California Historical Society. p. 365. ISBN 1-890771-49-X.
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