{"nrhp_refnum":"76002019","name":"Dallas County Courthouse","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Houston and Commerce Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Dallas","county":"Dallas County","state":"TX","lat":32.77925950800005,"lon":-96.80733498899997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1976-12-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Romanesque Revival county courthouse at Houston and Commerce Streets in Dallas, Texas, built in 1891-92 of blue granite and red Pecos sandstone to designs by Orlopp and Kusener.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building has regional architectural significance as one of the largest and most handsome Romanesque Revival buildings erected in Texas. Its massing, arcades and carved details are praised, and the site has housed Dallas County government since the county's founding. It is the fifth courthouse on the block.","narrative":"Dallas County's 1891-92 courthouse is a massive Romanesque Revival building at Houston and Commerce Streets. It rises from a blue granite base, with upper stories of red Pecos sandstone trimmed in lighter stone, heavy arched openings, marble entrance columns and eight round turrets. Architect M.A. Orlopp of Little Rock designed it after the previous courthouse on the site burned in 1890. Construction was interrupted by a labor dispute, and the first contractor, R.L. James, was dismissed in 1891. The building opened in the winter of 1892 at a cost well above the original estimate. Its 205-foot central tower was removed in 1919 after a structural failure, and interior work followed in 1915 and 1968. Even so, the exterior largely keeps its historic character, and the interior retains marble wainscots and cast iron details. The nomination values it as one of the largest and finest Romanesque Revival buildings in Texas, standing on a block long used for county government.","period_of_significance":"1891-1892","architect_builder":"Orlopp and Kusener, architects; M.A. Orlopp; contractor R.L. James (dismissed 1891)","architectural_style":"Romanesque Revival (Richardsonian Romanesque)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied and in good condition; continues to serve the functions of county government, though a newer structure has also been built.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:19.047359-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/49/9716/40971649/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/76002019.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76002019/4d53ded358-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76002019/4d53ded358-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Leaflet","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dallas_County_Courthouse_-_Old_Red.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Leaflet</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dallas_County_Courthouse_-_Old_Red.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"78002918","name":"Westend Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/texas/westend-historic-district-78002918/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40971649","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallas_County_Courthouse_(Texas)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5211300"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/dallas-county/dallas-county-courthouse-76002019/"}