{"nrhp_refnum":"76001618","name":"Centre County Courthouse","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"High St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Bellefonte","county":"Centre County","state":"PA","lat":40.91239638900004,"lon":-77.76654176699998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1976-11-07","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story stone and brick county courthouse with a stuccoed Greek Revival front porch, octagonal cupola and interiors remodelled in 1909-11, located in Bellefonte, Centre County, Pennsylvania. The first courthouse on the site was built in 1805, and the present building was enlarged and reconstructed in 1854-55.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the courthouse is the county's legal, political and social centre, associated with judges and governors from Bellefonte. Its 1835 Greek Revival porch is described as the sole surviving large-scale example of that style in the county, and its 1909-11 interiors are regarded as notable. Land law cases tried there are cited as a further reason for significance.","narrative":"Bellefonte's courthouse began as a limestone building erected in 1805 and was extended with brick wings in 1811. A Greek Revival porch with eight smooth columns was added to the front in 1835, and the structure was reconstructed and enlarged behind it in 1854-55 under contractor George W. Tate of Bellefonte, at a cost of $9,528. In 1909 architects Newman and Harris of Philadelphia added an eastern extension, and the interiors were remodelled in white and black marble with a golden-painted sculpted ceiling in the courtroom. The nomination states that the porch is the only surviving large-scale Greek Revival building of its kind in the county. The courthouse is also associated with several judges of the Central District who went on to serve on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, and with a number of Pennsylvania governors from the county. Many land disputes over iron, lumber and coal were tried here.","period_of_significance":"1805-Present","architect_builder":"Newman and Harris of Philadelphia (architects for the 1909 addition); George W. Tate of Bellefonte (contractor for the 1854-55 reconstruction)","architectural_style":"Greek Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":null,"vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:30.890171-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/76001618.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76001618/568757feff-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76001618/568757feff-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 2.0","author":"Doug Kerr from Albany, NY, United States","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Centre_County_Courthouse_Apr_09.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Doug Kerr from Albany, NY, United States</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 2.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Centre_County_Courthouse_Apr_09.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71994618","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centre_County_Courthouse","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5062254"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/centre-county/centre-county-courthouse-76001618/"}