Article Contributed on: 7/3/2009 12:01:51 AM
Goldenites are witnessing the passing of one of our major landmarks that has long been written into our skyline. The Jefferson County Hall of Justice, built in 1964-66, is presently being torn down, and soon Jeffco's third courthouse will pass to the ages. It has long been a towering Modernist landmark, designed by architect Robert Laramay. It was structurally designed to be capable of having more stories added, but in 1993 the Jefferson County Commissioners decided to build our current Courthouse. Soon Golden's historic Court House Hill neighborhood will no longer have a Courthouse.
It has taken many years to reach this event. Jefferson County was originally created 150 years ago this year by the provisional Jefferson Territorial Legislature on November 28, 1859. Golden was elected county seat on January 2, 1860, and when the Federally recognized Colorado Territory was formed Jefferson County was legally reconstituted in 1861. At first several downtown Golden buildings were rented for County headquarters, two of which still stand (Odd Fellows Hall and Loveland Block at 1106 and 1122 Washington Avenue). In 1877 our first Jefferson County Courthouse, an ornate Victorian edifice, was built at the southeast corner of 15th and Washington, around which our historic Court House Hill neighborhood of upscale homes congregated.
In 1953 the second Jefferson County Courthouse, a long Modernist building, was built at 17th and Arapahoe. This was controversial because to use the land Golden needed to part with its land, part of the four square block area bounded by 16th, 18th, Illinois and Arapahoe Streets. This was Golden's original park, given to the city by
William A.H. Loveland, a first of many gifts the famed pioneer gave to Golden. It was called the Public Square, City Park and Pioneer Park over time, and took many years to make into a true landscaped park. Over time Golden's historic City Park neighborhood grew in a ring around it, including homes of prominent citizens, merchants, Mines professors and fraternities. It was against Loveland's wishes for the historic square to not be used as a park, and so it took some legal work to transfer the land to the county. Next to the Courthouse the new Jefferson County Jail was built in 1957. The old Courthouse continued to be used in part as the Jefferson County Museum, and was demolished around 1963.
The new Courthouse was itself outgrown, so the new Jefferson County Hall of Justice was built next to it in the 1960s. This further interfered with Loveland's design by vacating Arapahoe Street and merging parkland with the block east. However, the building rose and became an impressive landmark upon the Golden skyline. Right away its design needed a little tweaking after a child nearly plunged through the widely spaced railings of the upper level, but it served the County well until the current Courthouse was built. The 1953 Courthouse was demolished in 1999, and today the Hall of Justice is departing, soon to be followed by the jail. Presumably the cornerstones of each will be saved, and efforts are underway to preserve one of the jail cells as well. Previously the cornerstone of the 1953 Courthouse was saved, and parts of the 1877 Courthouse are known to be preserved too, as well as two bricks from the Court House Block which was one of the rented predecessors of the 1870s.
For now nothing takes the place of the Hall of Justice, but the passing of one piece of history interestingly presents Mines and Golden with an opportunity to restore another should they wish to do so. Already much of the historic Public Square is landscaped in parklike setting, including a pedestrian plaza through its center, and the buildings old and new ringing around it continue to be oriented towards it. If Arapahoe Street were reopened this would restore the square's eastern axis and complete it again, and further landscaping efforts could ensure it fully retains a parklike setting. New development on its missing eastern block could complete the surrounding orientation towards it, and extra touches such as possibly streetscaping items along its boundary streets could enhance the setting and help it meld with its neighborhood. It would be a fitting tribute to Loveland, who was a major part of Golden and Mines history, and in a way ensure his wishes are fulfilled after all.