|
REASONS FOR PRESERVATION CONSTRUCTION ISSUES: SYSTEMS & CODES |
HISTORIC COURTHOUSE BUILDINGS - PRESERVATION AND REHABILITATION
REASONS FOR PRESERVATION In a secular society the judicial/governmental complex may be the principal symbolic precinct in the community. In the pre-Civil War South, the courthouse-square district was almost the sole reason for the existence of many county seats, which in turn, were typically the only settlements in an overwhelmingly rural landscape. These courthouse precincts typically consisted of the courthouse, a jail, a caretaker's residence, a row of lawyers' offices and a nearby tavern and inn. Designed in a monumental Classical style, often in the image of a Greek or Roman temple, and sited upon a prominent point of land, the courthouse announced the authority of the government. The courthouse town was exported west of the Alleghenies in the late eighteenth century, where it evolved into the paradigmatic courthouse square seen today in many Midwestern counties. In the gridded landscape regulated by the Northwest Ordinance, the courthouse itself is often located at the geographical center of the county and oriented to the cardinal points of the compass, thereby ordering the American landscape in a literal and figurative fashion. WHY PRESERVE HISTORIC COURTHOUSES?
MATERIAL AND CRAFT CONSERVATION
SYMBOLISM The historic symbolism of the two courthouses to San Francisco is another reason to preserve them. The location of the Court of Appeals and the California State Building in San Francisco symbolized the primacy of the city during much of the twentieth century. As the largest and most powerful city west of Chicago, San Francisco was the undisputed commercial, cultural and administrative center of the western states and the Pacific territories until the rise of Los Angeles in the 1920s. San Francisco's historic prominence resulted in the creation of a grand, Beaux-Arts Civic Center rivaling any similar complex in the East. The location of the California State Building in the Civic Center (and not in Sacramento), with the California Supreme Court as its primary tenant, only underscored the importance of the city. Likewise, the location of the chief courthouse of the Ninth Circuit (which at one time consisted of nine states) in San Francisco reinforced the city's position as the de facto capital of the West. ARCHITECTURAL SINGULARITY: AMERICAN RENAISSANCE AND THE CITY BEAUTIFUL MOVEMENTS In their architecture and planning, the California State Building and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals/Main Post Office are premier examples of the American Renaissance and City Beautiful movements. Both movements became popular at the end of the nineteenth century, a time when the United States was beginning to assert its cultural and political influence in the world. Inspired by the "White City," at the 1893 World Columbian Exposition in Chicago, and carried out by American architects trained at the Ecole des Beaux Arts, the American Renaissance consciously harnessed the language of the Italian and French Renaissance to demonstrate America's growing cultural and political prestige. Meanwhile, the practitioners of the City Beautiful sought to create beauty and civic order in America's fast-growing but chaotic urban areas by encouraging the construction of imposing Renaissance-Revival public buildings, grand boulevards and public monuments. The Court of Appeals has been widely recognized as one of the most important monuments of the American Renaissance. Richard Guy Wilson of the University of Virginia argued that the luxurious appointments of this building demonstrated that "America had become Europe's immediate successor in the march of civilization." Likewise, the California State Building, an integral component of San Francisco's Civic Center, is an important contributor to what most architectural historians consider to be the "finest and most complete manifestation of the City Beautiful Movement in America."
|
The question of why to preserve and rehabilitate historic federal, state and county courthouses-or other important government buildings-deserves some attention. Some American communities have lost architecturally and historically significant courthouses to neglect and demolition. Although built to endure, many existing courthouses have fallen victim to the challenges posed by increasing caseloads, regulations and changing program requirements. Some county and state governments have found it easier to move the judicial system from their historic courthouse precincts and worse, demolish them. Although modern needs pose legitimate issues which must be resolved, it is also important to make the effort to preserve historic courthouses. While it might be easier to build a new building to conform to modern codes, it is not impossible to adapt historic courthouses to meet the new requirements. Considering the rapid change and heterogeneity that characterize American culture and society, the historic courthouse represents a connection to our collective past and the ideals of our founders. As historic courthouses continue to be used for their original purpose, society will be provided with a tangible object providing the often elusive link between past and future.
From a pragmatic perspective, the impulse to preserve historic courthouses can often be justified by the simple fact that these buildings realistically could never be constructed again. Many of the materials and labor-intensive craftsmanship employed in the construction of San Francisco's Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals/Main Post Office and the California State Building are now either no longer available or too costly to obtain. If carefully conserved, both buildings will continue to illustrate these "lost arts," rare materials and craftsmanship to future generations. The grandeur evident in the design and construction of these two courthouses was reserved for comparatively few buildings of their era, either public or private. The investment of significant resources illustrates the pride and respect accorded by a young and optimistic nation to its legal institutions.
