Text of marker:
(Seal of Lawrence, Kansas)
Douglas County Courthouse
Designed by John G. Haskell and Frederick Gunn in the Richardsonian Romanesque style.
Constructed by the firm of Cuthbert and Sargent of Topeka, Ks. 1903-1904.
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
From the National Register application:
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visit link)
"The three and one-half story native stone Douglas county courthouse is basically rectangular in plan with slight irregularities caused by the clock tower, the stair tower, the gable ends and the entrance features. The exterior walls of the Romanesque structure are constructed of rough-hewn Cottonwood limestone laid in regular courses. A narrow band of smooth cut limestone runs entirely around the building at the first floor sill. A wide band of smooth cut limestone wraps entirely around the building at the first floor lintels.
The building has a combination of roof forms. The south portion has a gable roof running east-west with an intersecting gable roof for the large dormer on the south. The north portion has a truncated hip roof with a large gable dormer on the north and small gable dormers on the east and west. The walls on all the gable ends extend past the roof line. The roof is covered with wood shingles and all ridge lines have
metal caps.
The dominant feature of the courthouse is the square clock tower. Located on the west side just north of the main entrance, it rises six stories high and is terminated by a pyramidal roof, which in turn is capped by a metal finial. Four large minarets begin on the sixth floor and rise past the roof line, adding to the impressive character of the tower. At the fifth floor small corbelled out balconies with iron railings are placed on all but the east side. The clock in the tower is still in working order.
Located at the southwest corner is a smaller octagonal stair tower. It has a steep eight-sided roof which is topped by a metal finial. The windows in the stair tower are placed in alternating fashion on the five visible sides of the tower. Where the main roof line of the building meets the tower, a band of cut stone with dentils is located. The same treatment is repeated in the cornice of the tower.
The main entrance is at ground level on the west side and located in a massive recessed arched opening adjacent to the clock tower. The doors are of frame construction, painted white and shaped on top to fit the semi-circular arched doorway. Four small columns and much ornamental stone carving are found in the recessed archway.
Another major entrance is on the first floor on the north side. Reached by a flight of steps, it is placed in an archway recessed in a flat rectangular opening. The doors are similar to those on the west entrance.
Windows on the courthouse are found in a wide variety of shapes: squares, rectangles and windows of various widths with semicircular arched heads. Most of the windows, except for those on the basement floor, have lintels of smooth cut stone; some are flat single stone lintels while the arched openings are of seven or eight cut stones.
A checkerboard-like effect caused by alternating squares of smooth cut and rough cut stone is found at many places on the exterior: at the cornice except on the gable ends, on the clock tower between the third and fourth floor windows and on the south and west sides between some of the second and third floor windows.
Stone drain spouts with carved decorations are placed at a number of locations and there is even one small gargoyle on the clock tower above the first floor. The name "Douglas County Court House" is visible in raised letters on the west side to the south of the main entrance. The carved stone ornamentation found on the building attests to the quality of Stone drain spouts with carved decorations are placed at a number of the craftsmanship of the early 20th century stonemasons.
The exterior of the building is virtually the same as it was originally except for the weathering of some carved stone and the installation of window air conditioning units. Changes have been made to the interior to accommodate expansion of county government."