Monterey County Courthouse Displays Local History
Monterey County Courthouse
There are many noteworthy buildings in Salinas, which we plan to highlight in the coming weeks. Lets start with our county courthouse, which was moved to Salinas in 1872. An imposing edifice in the Italiante style was first built on Alisal Street in 1879. It was replaced in 1938 by the current three-story structure. Architect Robert Stanton designed the concrete facade in the Modern style, which was funded by the federal Public Works Administration, a New Deal agency.
Its symmetrical plan has a sense of serene order to it, but its scale is not intimidating. In some places, the third floor is comprised of glass windows in metal frames sitting lightly on the concrete facade below. On Alisal Street, the public passes between tall fluted piers into a pleasant, landscaped courtyard. Local history is embedded into the warm-toned concrete. Sculpted heads and low-relief panels, by Joseph Mora, depict periods of history in Monterey County.
Monterey County Courthouse: Detail
More information:
The Californian: County Courthouse bids for historic list
Courthouses of California, By Ray McDevitt, California Historical Society
Google Maps: Monterey County Courthouse