{"nrhp_refnum":"71000562","name":"Second Tompkins County Courthouse","other_names":["Old Courthouse"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"121 E. Court St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Ithaca","county":"Tompkins County","state":"NY","lat":42.44191641900005,"lon":-76.54625540199999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1971-03-18","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Engineering","Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story brick Gothic Revival courthouse with a three-story tower at 121 East Court Street, Ithaca, New York, built in 1854 to designs by John F. Maurice. It is the second courthouse on the site.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it the oldest surviving Gothic Revival courthouse in New York State and the oldest public building in Tompkins County. It is valued for its restrained adaptation of English medieval castle features, its open timber roof with hammer-beam trusses, and early ventilation and heating systems. It is described as an uncommon survivor of its period in central New York.","narrative":"Built in 1854 at 121 East Court Street in Ithaca, the Old Courthouse is a two-story red brick building with a three-story tower, small octagonal corner turrets and pointed-arch entrances at each end. John F. Maurice designed it, adapting features of English medieval castles to a public building. Its second-floor courtroom retains a notable open timber roof with seven arch-braced hammer-beam trusses, painted to imitate wood graining, though an attic floor now hides much of it. In 1894 William Henry Miller designed a Neo-colonial wall behind the judge's bench, an unusual contrast within a Gothic building. The land was given to the county in 1817 by Simeon DeWitt for the first courthouse. The building served as the county courthouse for 78 years until a new one opened in 1932. It is described as the oldest surviving Gothic Revival courthouse in New York State and the oldest public building in Tompkins County, and it retains early ventilation and heating features.","period_of_significance":"19th Century (specific date 1854)","architect_builder":"John F. Maurice, Architect; 1894 courtroom alterations by William Henry Miller","architectural_style":"Gothic Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as occupied, in good condition and altered; present uses include government and museum. It is located in the DeWitt Park historic core area.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:39.441811-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/71000562.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/71000562/b0eeea3b7f-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/71000562/b0eeea3b7f-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Jerrye &amp; Roy Klotz, MD","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SECOND_TOMPKINS_COUNTY_COURTHOUSE,_ITHACA,_TOMPKINS_COUNTY.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jerrye &amp;amp; Roy Klotz, MD</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SECOND_TOMPKINS_COUNTY_COURTHOUSE,_ITHACA,_TOMPKINS_COUNTY.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75322522","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Tompkins_County_Courthouse","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7443606"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/tompkins-county/second-tompkins-county-courthouse-71000562/"}