Chambers County Courthouse – Anahuac, TX
Posted by: WalksfarTX
N 29° 46.152 W 094° 41.086
15R E 337122 N 3294400
The Chambers County Courthouse fully exhibits the basic characteristics of the Modeme or "Modern Classic" style with a continuing simplification of ornament and subtle complexities of massing.
Waymark Code: WMZJY1
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 11/21/2018
Views: 4
NRHP Nomination Form"The massing of the courthouse presents the appearance of differently sized blocks simply standing against one another. The masses do not overlap or interlock and their heights are only slightly different. Two lateral blocks, three stories tall, project forward and frame the central block, which is slightly taller, making an overall I-shape in plan. Two-story blocks stand at either end of the lateral blocks on the north-south axis. The courthouse has a cast-in-place concrete structure of columns and beams resting on spread footings. The building's floor decks are 5 1/2-inch thick, one-way concrete slabs, and its exterior walls of red clay tile are sheathed in Texas fossil limestone with smooth and fluted Texas creme limestone spandrels.
Although they are rather subtle, there are numerous omamental features on the courthouse exterior. The east and west facades of the central mass are composed as recessed temple fronts, each with six fluted pilasters without bases or capitals. The face edges of the flutes are flush with the tall stone entablature above them, and fluting is also used to form the stepped-back jambs of the door portals at all four entrances. Large windows and doors that read as dark voids fill the gaps between the fluted pilasters, allowing them to appear as free-standing columns. Windows are arranged in vertical, three-story stacks, and recessed spandrels of stone are placed at each floor to reinforce the building's verticality"