Monterey County Court House
About this property
The Monterey County Court House is the court house for Monterey County in Salinas, California, United States. The first Monterey County Court House was built in 1878, designed by Jacob Lenez, Jr., which was a brick Victorian building. The courthouse remained in use until 1937, when it was demolished. Today a courtyard, lily pond, and commemorative sculpture occupy the site. The second court house 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 the previous courthouse 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. The courthouse was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 8, 2009. 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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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Everything a full report reveals about Monterey County Court House
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Questions about this property
When was Monterey County Court House listed on the National Register?
Monterey County Court House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 8, 2009.
What type of historic resource is Monterey County Court House?
Monterey County Court House is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Monterey County Court House?
The period of significance for Monterey County Court House is recorded as the industrial era.
Can I research the history near Monterey County Court House?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Monterey County Court House will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
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