Alpena County Courthouse

There have been several Alpena County Courthouses in Alpena, Michigan. These included buildings which housed the Circuit Court (the court of general jurisdiction), the District Court (the court of limited jurisdiction) and the Probate court (involving e.g., probate estates, trusts, protection of persons, guardianship, conservatorship).

Alpena County Courthouse
Location within the state of Michigan
Alpena County Courthouse (the United States)
Location720 Chisholm Avenue, Alpena, Michigan
Coordinates45°4′5″N 83°26′30″W
Area4 acres (1.6 ha)
Built1934
ArchitectWilliam H. Kuni; Henry C. Webber Construction Co.
NRHP reference No.83003643[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPDecember 08, 1983
Designated MSHSOctober 23, 1979[2]

Alpena County's first courthouse[upper-alpha 1] was destroyed by a fire on December 12, 1870. Its replacement built in 1881 met a similar fate on December 22, 1932.[4][5] The current courthouse built in 1934 is an historic Art deco courthouse building located at 720 Chisholm Avenue in Alpena, Michigan. It was designed by architect William H. Kuni of Detroit and built by the Henry C. Webber Construction Co. of locally produced poured Portland cement made from locally quarried limestone.[6][7] According to Kuni, it was the first monolithic poured building constructed during the winter in a cold climate.[1][8][9] Kuni also designed the Tuscola County Court House.[10]

It was financed partly by local bonds and WPA grants.[8]

The building, dubbed "Fort Alpena" by a local writer, is embellished by architectural sculpture, including an eagle perched atop the clock on the main facade and figures of Justice and Law as well as "fascia designs show(ing) images of the county's lumbering, shipbuilding, farming, fishing and recreational industries." [11]

On December 8, 1983, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places, item # 83003643.[1][12][13] It is a state registered historic site.[14]

The Alpena Courthouse Annex which houses the District Court and the Probate Court is located at 719 Chisholm Avenue[15][16] and was built in 1997.[5]

References

Notes
  1. Located at 150 East Chisholm Street, now the site of the I.O.O.F. Centennial Building, itself a designated state historic site.[3]

Citations
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. State of Michigan (2009). "Alpena County Courthouse". Archived from the original on May 11, 2012. Retrieved June 26, 2010.
  3. "Comprehensive Plan" (PDF). City of Alpena, Michigan. December 13, 2013. pp. 5–6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-07-17. Retrieved June 7, 2016.
  4. Cole, Maurice F., ‘’Michigan’s Courthouses: Old and New’’, Library of Congress 74-27625, 1974, p. 14
  5. "Alpena County courthouses gallery". Courthouse history.com. Retrieved June 7, 2016.
  6. "Alpena County Courthouse". Alpena County. Pure Michigan. Archived from the original on 7 February 2011. Retrieved January 29, 2011.
  7. "Alpena County Courthouse State Historical Marker". Retrieved June 10, 2016 – via Flickr.
  8. "Michigan Markers listing". Archived from the original on 2011-06-06. Retrieved 2010-05-01.
  9. "Alpena County Courthouse, Michigan State Tourist listing". Pure Michigan. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
  10. Ashlee, Laura R. (May 27, 2005). Traveling Through Time: A Guide to Michigan's Historical Markers (Revised ed.). Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Press. p. 420. ISBN 9780472030668. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
  11. Eckert, Kathryn Bishop, ‘’Buildings of Michigan’’. Oxford University Press, New York, 1993 p. 448
  12. "83003643, Alpena County Courthouse". National Register of Historic Places. December 8, 1983. Retrieved June 10, 2016.
  13. "Alpena County Courthouse". archiplanet.org. Archived from the original on September 24, 2016. Retrieved June 10, 2016.
  14. "Comprehensive Plan" (PDF). City of Alpena, Michigan. December 13, 2013. p. 5-5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-07-17. Retrieved June 7, 2016.
  15. "District Court". County of Alpena. Retrieved June 7, 2016.
  16. "Probate Court". County of Alpena. Retrieved June 7, 2016.


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