Springfield District Court - Springfield, MA
Posted by: 
neoc1
N 42° 06.047 W 072° 35.456
18T E 699204 N 4663774
The former Springfield District Court building, now the Good Life Center, is located across from Court Square on East Columbus Avenue in Springfield, MA.
Waymark Code: WME2M5
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Date Posted: 03/26/2012
Views: 1
The Springfield District Court is an excellent example of Neo-Classical Revival architecture which was used extensively for public buildings during the 1920-1930 period. The building was designed to be a compatible with the Municipal Group (City Hall - Campanile - Symphony Hall), located across East Columbus Avenue at Court Square. It is built to the same scale and uses the same limestone
facing. The facade is nine bays wide with the three center bays set behind two columns. The doors and windows feature decorative spandrels and brass trim.
Planing for a building capable of handling 100,000 cases per year began in 1929. It was designed by local architects Gardner & Gardner and constructed for $400,000. When completed it handled all district court business, both civil and criminal, for the City of Springfield and for the surrounding towns of West Springfield, Agawam, Longmeadow, East Longmeadow, Ludlow and Hampden. The first floor contained the civil and criminal courtrooms, offices, judges' rooms, a library, probation quarters, and medical offices. A basement passageway connected the courthouse to the adjacent police headquarters. The building remained in use as district court until a new County Courthouse was constructed at Court Square in the early 1970's. It now serves as City Hall Annex housing the Good Life Center of the Department of Elder Affairs and Council on Aging.
Hours of operation are Monday through Friday from 8:15 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.
A plaque on the building explains its history:
HAMPDEN
COUNTY
DISTRICT COURT
BUILDING
1600 East Columbus Avenue
Built 1930 Renovated 1980
===================
Now used for municipal offices, this limestone structure
originally housed the District Court of Springfield and its
surrounding towns. The first known district court was
established in 1823. This location was selected for its prox-
imity to the now-demolished Police Department. The
building was designed by Frank King, who had taken over
the architectural firm of E. C. & G. C. Gardner after the
death of both principals.