{"nrhp_refnum":"74000536","name":"Mono County Courthouse","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Bridgeport","county":"Mono County","state":"CA","lat":38.25610384000004,"lon":-119.22845651399996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1974-03-01","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-and-one-half-story white wooden courthouse on Main Street at School Street in Bridgeport, Mono County, California, opened April 1, 1880 and owned by the county.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it the second oldest operating courthouse in California, still serving its original purpose. It is described as a rare surviving California Italianate courthouse that reflects the wealth of the Bodie gold mines. Mono County is also noted as likely the only county in the United States whose first county seat lay in another county and another state.","narrative":"Mono County's courthouse in Bridgeport is a two-and-one-half-story wooden building finished in white with red trim, topped by a two-story cupola with a rounded dome. Designed by J. R. Roberts and opened in April 1880 at a cost of $31,000, it sits on hand-hewn local granite foundations and retains many original French hand-rolled glass panes, tall oak and walnut doors, and safe doors cast in St. Louis in 1880. Its Italianate detailing includes bracketed window canopies, engaged columns and quoined corners. The building is described as the second oldest operating courthouse in California and continues to serve its original purpose. Its history is also unusual: the county's first seat, Aurora, proved to lie inside Nevada after a boundary survey, so records moved to Bridgeport, where an inn served as courthouse until this building opened. Its design reflects the prosperity that the Bodie gold mines brought to the region.","period_of_significance":"19th Century (opened April 1, 1880)","architect_builder":"Designed by J. R. Roberts; contract sold at auction July 3, 1880 to Charles Anton, Samuel Hopkins and James Cain","architectural_style":"Victorian; described by architectural historian David Gebhard as California Italianate","criteria":[],"status_note":"Good condition; occupied, in government use and still serving as the county courthouse; altered (early lighting fixtures removed).","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:31.808245-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/74000536.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74000536/c90789da7b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74000536/c90789da7b-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Carol M. Highsmith","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Mono_County_Courthouse_in_Bridgeport,_California_LCCN2013633800.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Carol M. Highsmith</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Mono_County_Courthouse_in_Bridgeport,_California_LCCN2013633800.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123859886","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mono_County_Courthouse","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q15255233"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/mono-county/mono-county-courthouse-74000536/"}