Presidio County Courthouse - Marfa, TX - Victorian Style Architecture on Waymarking.com

"Built in 1886, the Presidio County Courthouse is a fine brick and stone building in Second Empire style incorporating details from the Italianate mode. Pavilions boldly projecting from each of the corners are surmounted with Mansardic roofs with dormers with triangular pediments and iron cresting. These pavilions are further distinguished by stone quoins and openings with decorative lintels. A water table provides a base for these as well as the other parts of the building.

The main mass of the rectangular building is distinguished on the north and south sides by three triangular pediments in symmetrical composition in Italianate style, one of which emphasizes the entrances. This central feature which projects forward is also enhanced with quoins. In the gables are triple arched features.

The different forms of the five-part facades are unified by several features, including stringcourses girdling the building at the window sill level of the second and third floors. The cornice also provides a satisfactory unifying element. On the ground and on the second stories, stone lintels span the openings and on the top story stilted segmental arches span the openings which contain double-hung windows. Rising above the center of the building and forming a focal point for the surrounding area is the tower surmounted by statue of the goddess of justice, reposed on a broad pedestal. A cornice with consoles surrounds the base of the roof and Roman arches span the openings of the octagonal tower.

With entrances on each side and corridors extending through the center of the building the floor plan was similar to many others in Texas. At the intersection of the corridors a circular rotunda was created with stairways situated nearby. In the quadrants thus created, were located offices of the county tax collector, justice of the peace, county judge, and county clerk."