{"nrhp_refnum":"08000878","name":"Monterey County Court House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"240 Church St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Salinas","county":"Monterey County","state":"CA","lat":36.67353755800008,"lon":-121.65816656699997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2009-01-08","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Art"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A county courthouse at 240 Church Street in Salinas, Monterey County, California, built in 1937 to designs by architect Robert Stanton, with sculptural decoration by artist Jo Mora. It includes the building and a courtyard sculpture.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the courthouse is an excellent local example of WPA Moderne architecture in precolored board-form concrete. It also shows the collaboration between architect Robert Stanton and artist Jo Mora, a pairing of architect and artist promoted under the WPA program in the 1930s.","narrative":"Salinas's Monterey County Courthouse, at 240 Church Street, was completed in 1937 to replace a 57-year-old courthouse. Architect Robert Stanton designed two U-shaped wings of two and three stories around the old building, which was then removed to leave an interior courtyard. Construction cost $450,000, including a federal Works grant of $202,000 that required part of the funds to go to public art. Artist Jo Mora supplied the decoration: a bas-relief figure of Justice over the main entrance, travertine panels on four eras of county history, sixty-two sculpted heads, cast brass door plaques, and a travertine courtyard sculpture. The walls are precolored board-form concrete set on an I-beam foundation in waffle form, chosen because of unstable soil. The design included earthquake-resistant construction and allowed all county departments to share one building. It is recognized locally for its WPA Moderne architecture and the architect-artist partnership, and it remains in use as a courthouse.","period_of_significance":"1937","architect_builder":"Robert A. Stanton - Architect; Joseph Jacinto 'Jo' Mora - Artist; Thomas B. Molvin; Barrett and Hilp Construction (SF)","architectural_style":"Moderne - Depression (WPA Moderne, with International style elements)","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"The building continues to function as a county courthouse in much the same manner as originally intended. The courtyard pool now serves as a planter.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:29.53843-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/08000878.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/08000878/1911042876-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/08000878/1911042876-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Coasttocoast (talk)","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Monterey_County_Court_House.jpeg\" rel=\"noopener\">Coasttocoast (talk)</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Monterey_County_Court_House.jpeg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123859938","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monterey_County_Courthouse","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14683393"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/monterey-county/monterey-county-court-house-08000878/"}