Livingston County Courthouse - 1845 - Smithland, Kentucky - Dated Architectural Structures Multifarious on Waymarking.com

The date "Built 1845" appears in a small circle atop the the courthouse sign "Livingston County Courthouse". This building served as the county courthouse until the new Justice Center was opened in 2008.

The building plans date to 1842, and call for a two-story brick building with a 40’ x 50’ footprint and a cut limestone foundation. The window treatment is drawn from Romanesque and Italianate architectural styles, but the building’s frontal symmetry relates more to the then-prevailing Greek Revival style.

The courthouse’s form resembles other institutional buildings, looking more like a church or school than the seat of county governmental power. The building is 3-bays wide, 5-bays deep, and covered by a front-gable roof of modest pitch. An octagonal louvered cupola tops the roof. The front façade steps in slightly from the rest of the building, making it somewhat narrower than the remainder of the side. The building’s articulation of detail is more modest than pretentious.

Two windows flank the primary opening, each a 6-over-6 double-hung sash topped by a segmental arch (the Italianate touch), finished with a stone keystone. On the second floor of the main façade, full arched windows (the Romanesque influence), also with 6-over-6 double-hung sash, align above the first floor openings. Both floor’s windows have projecting curved brick lintels. Between the second floor front windows is an old doorway opening that reads now as if it is a round-topped window, which has a very shallow balcony. Original glass is present in one ornamental window on the front façade, but the large windows on two sides of the structure have replacement glass. Decorative accents that once appeared at the roof have been removed.

-National Registry Entry

The Livingston County Courthouse and Clerk's Offices, at 351 Court St. in Smithland, Kentucky, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011. It designed by Preston Grace in the Greek Revival and Romanesque architectural styles and built in 1845. There are two associated buildings.

-Wikipedia Entry

Year built or dedicated as indicated on the structure or plaque: 1845 Full Inscription (unless noted above): Built 1845 Livingston County Courthouse Website (if available): [Web Link]

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