View source for Dubuque County Courthouse

{{Use American English|date=August 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox NRHP
|name = Dubuque County Courthouse
|nrhp_type =
|image = Dubuque_County_Courthouse.jpg
|caption =
|location = 720 Central Avenue<br>[[Dubuque, Iowa]]
|locmapin = Iowa
| mapframe         = yes
| mapframe-marker  = building
| mapframe-zoom    = 12
| mapframe-caption = Interactive map showing the location for Dubuque County Courthouse
|coordinates = {{coord|42|30|3.4|N|90|39|52.1|W|display=inline,title}}
|area =
|built = 1891-1893
|architect = [[Fridolin Heer|Fridolin Heer & Son]]
|architecture = [[Renaissance Revival architecture|Renaissance]]<br>[[Romanesque Revival architecture|Romanesque]]
|added = June 23, 1971
|mpsub = {{NRHP url|id=64000147|title=County Courthouses in Iowa TR}} (AD)
|refnum = 71000298 <ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2007a}}</ref>}}
The '''Dubuque County Courthouse''' is located on Central Avenue, between 7th and 8th Streets, in [[Dubuque, Iowa]], United States. The current structure was built from 1891 to 1893 to replace an earlier building. These are believed to be the only two structures to house the county courts and administrative offices.<ref name=judicial/>

The courthouse houses several county government offices including the county auditor, treasurer, attorney, and facilities for the Iowa District Court for [[Dubuque County, Iowa|Dubuque County]].

==History==
Information about the first courthouse in Dubuque is sparse.<ref name=judicial>{{cite web|title=Dubuque County Courthouse|url=https://www.iowacourts.gov/for-the-public/iowa-courts-history/iowa-county-courthouse-history/dubuque-county-courthouse|publisher=Iowa Judicial Branch|access-date=2015-07-24}}</ref> The first known attempt at a courthouse were the plans for a two-story log structure in 1836, but it was never built. By 1843 it was decided that the increased private business in Dubuque necessitated an increase in public business.<ref name=Stanek>{{cite book|last=Stanek|first=Edward and Jacqueline|title=Iowa's Magnificent County Courthouses|year=1976|publisher=Wallace-Homestead|location=Des Moines|page=62|isbn=0-87069-189-9}}</ref> Therefore, the county built a red brick building to house its records and offices. It is possible that this building was already under construction as there are records of expenditures for brick, lumber, lime, ironwork, and architectural fees dating back to 1839. An addition was built onto the front of this building in 1856. By 1869 there was talk of building a new courthouse as the county had outgrown this building and it was considered outdated and ill-shaped. Even after a petition for a new courthouse was presented in 1878, there was no serious movement toward construction until 1890.

The [[United States Congress]] had authorized the use of [[Washington Park (Dubuque, Iowa)|Washington Square]] for the new courthouse, but the choice was made to locate it on the site of the old one. County officials chose local architect [[Fridolin Heer]], designer of [[Sacred Heart Catholic Church (Dubuque)|Sacred Heart Church]] and several other notable buildings in the city.<ref name=annual>{{cite journal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VMBBAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA313|journal=[[American Art Directory|American Art Annual]]|volume=9|publisher=MacMillan Company|year=1911|page=313| title=Obituaries — October 2910 to October 1911: Herr, Fridolin J.}}</ref> Twenty-five year [[Bond (finance)|bonds]] totaling $125,000 were sold in April 1891, and the [[cornerstone]] was laid on July 11 of the same year. The building was completed two years later.

The Dubuque County Courthouse was listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1971.<ref name="nris"/> Its significance is derived from its association with county government, and the political power and prestige of Dubuque as the [[county seat]].<ref name=Mercer>{{cite web|url={{NRHP url|id=71000298}}|title=Dubuque County Courthouse|publisher=[[National Park Service]]|access-date=2018-09-01|author=Mrs. Kenneth E. Mercer}} with {{NRHP url|id=71000298|photos=y|title=photos}}</ref> The adjacent [[Dubuque County Jail]] is a [[National Historic Landmark]].<ref name="nhlsum">{{cite web|url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1226&ResourceType=Building|title=Dubuque County Jail|access-date=2007-10-03|work=National Historic Landmark summary listing|publisher=National Park Service|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040618235433/http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1226&ResourceType=Building|archive-date=2004-06-18}}</ref>

==Architecture==
[[File:Dbq jail.jpg|thumb|left|Historic [[Dubuque County Jail]] with courthouse on right]]
Heer designed the structure in the [[Beaux-Arts architecture|Beaux-Arts]] style with elements of the [[Renaissance Revival architecture|Renaissance]] and the [[Romanesque Revival architecture|Romanesque]] styles. It is constructed of [[Indiana limestone|Bedford limestone]] on the first floor and red brick and molded [[terra cotta]] on the floors above. The [[frieze]] is composed of [[galvanized iron]] or [[zinc]]. The building has a footprint of {{convert|88|x|125|ft|m}}. It is five-stories topped by a central tower surmounted by a {{convert|14|ft|m|adj=on}} statue of [[Lady Justice|Justice]]. All total, the building rises to a height of {{convert|213|ft|m}}.<ref name=Mercer/> Upon completion, 12 classic statues of [[Lamination|laminated]] [[pewter]] adorned the roof, however only six remain.<ref name=judicial/> Some reports say the others were removed during [[World War I]] to provide materiel for the war effort.<ref name=county>{{cite web|title=Dubuque County Court House|url=http://www.dubuquecounty.org/Courthouse/tabid/95/Default.aspx|publisher=Dubuque County|access-date=2015-07-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150725020147/http://www.dubuquecounty.org/Courthouse/tabid/95/Default.aspx|archive-date=2015-07-25|url-status=dead}}</ref> The interior features the shaft of the tower that terminates on the fourth floor with a dome of [[stained glass]]. Woodwork and fittings are of oak with carvings that are done in a [[Richardsonian Romanesque|Richardsonian]] character.

===Renovations===
Renovations were done to the building over the years, especially in the 1980s. Changes include the installation of a glass elevator, a granite fountain was placed on the ground floor, and the entrances into the building were moved to the ground level from the second floor. [[Gold leaf]] was applied to the tower dome. Given the various weather conditions, it did not hold and it had to be repaired. The county reevaluated security at the courthouse following the murders of a judge in Georgia and a judge's family in Illinois. All entrances, but one, were closed and visitors and their possessions were screened.<ref name=county/>

==See also==
*[[List of Iowa county courthouses]]

==References==
{{Commonscat|Dubuque County Courthouse}}
{{Reflist}}

{{County courthouses in Iowa}}
{{NRHP in Dubuque, Iowa}}

[[Category:Government buildings completed in 1893]]
[[Category:Renaissance Revival architecture in Iowa]]
[[Category:County courthouses in Iowa]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Dubuque, Iowa]]
[[Category:Culture of Dubuque, Iowa]]
[[Category:Towers in Iowa]]
[[Category:Courthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Dubuque, Iowa]]