1906 - Gila County Court House - Globe, AZ - Dated Buildings and Cornerstones on Waymarking.com

Interesting design of this dated stone. Additionally there is a second similar stone on the left side of the courthouse entrance that states: Bill Passed 1905.

The Old Gila County Courthouse, the present location of the Cobre Valley Center for the Arts, was actually the second County Courthouse to be built on this site.The original courthouse was completed in September, 1888. Unfortunately, this structure was inadequate to begin with, and a scant three years later, petitions were presented to the Board of Supervisors seeking the construction of an additional story.

Due to financial difficulties, however, no real action was taken until January, 1905, when the county received legislative authorization to issue bonds in the amount of $40,000 for the purpose of constructing a new courthouse and jail. Bids for the architectural plans were advertised in May of 1905, and in July of the same year, the plans of the relatively obscure architect W. R. Norton were selected.

By March 1907, the new building was complete, and various county officials vacated the space they had been renting and moved into their new quarters.The new building housed the courts on the third floor, the administrative offices on the second floor, and the jail and Sheriff’s office on the ground floor.

As with the original courthouse, the new one proved inadequate from the start. Major remodeling took place, beginning in March of 1909; and in November, 1909, construction began on a new jail building located directly east of the courthouse.

The old courthouse, despite its deficiencies, served as the seat of county Government for nearly 70 years. In 1976, however, it was vacated and county administration moved to a new structure on the east side of Globe.

The building was named to the national register of historic places on May 27, 1975. It lay practically vacant, except for some activity on the ground floor, from the time it was vacated until the Cobre Valley Fine Arts Guild began their full-scale restoration project in March, 1984.

Source

When logging a visit to a waymark in this category, please provide one or more photos taken by yourself, and note down your impressions and any background information you may have.