Bergen County Court House - Hackensack, NJ
Posted by: 
Metro2
N 40° 52.734 W 074° 02.604
18T E 580599 N 4525754
This building is the fifth Courthouse since Hackensack became the seat of Bergen County in 1710.
Waymark Code: WMAZEW
Location: New Jersey, United States
Date Posted: 03/15/2011
Views: 7
Located at the intersection of Court Street and Moore Street, the Bergen County Courthouse stands adjacent to a historic First Dutch Reformed Church.
A historical marker near the entrance reads:
"BERGEN COUNTY
COURT HOUSE
James Riely Gordon (1863–1937), noted architect of public buildings used the Beaux Arts style to reflect the power and dignity of American institutions of government and justice. Ground was broken November 29, 1909 and the cornerstone laid on July 6, 1910. On February 1912 the building was completed at a cost of $1,617,000. The original design had space for County government and State and County courts. This is the fifth courthouse to stand in Hackensack since becoming the County Seat in 1710. This Classical granite and marble building with its dome modeled on the U.S. Capitol also incorporated other art forms—painting, sculpture and stained glass. On top of the dome’s cupola is the statue Enlightenment Giving Power by John Gelert. The marble statues on the walls flanking the main steps represent History and Law."
From this Wikipedia website (
visit link) , we also learn that the building's annex was built in 1958. The Court House was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
The Green across the street from the Court House is the oldest public square in New Jersey.
There is a lack of online information about the building's current and former use...but, one of the rooms in the Courthouse is called the Supreme Court Room AND this website (
visit link) discusses that one of the judges in the early days made his home nearby in order to be close the courthouse. Today, as in many New Jersey County Courthouses of old, the buildings were or are used by the Board of Freeholders to administer the County..and that appears to be the use of the Bergen County Courthouse today.