{"nrhp_refnum":"78003063","name":"Kings County Courthouse","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"114 W. 8th St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Hanford","county":"Kings County","state":"CA","lat":36.32772447900004,"lon":-119.64680618699998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1978-09-21","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A neo-classical revival county courthouse at 114 W. 8th Street in Hanford, California, built in 1896 at the center of a tree-shaded public square, with a matching addition from 1913 or 1914.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is one of the oldest public buildings in continual use in Central California and one of the few remaining neo-classical county courthouses in the state. It is the visual focal point of Hanford's square and central business district. The original courtroom, where many notable trials were held, survives largely intact.","narrative":"Hanford's Kings County Courthouse, erected in 1896, sits at the center of a tree-shaded public square. It is a neo-classical revival building of buff-colored brick with granite steps and columns, two-tiered porticoes on the north and south, and pyramidal metal-clad roofs at the corners. An addition built in 1913 or 1914 matches the original so closely that the join is hard to detect. Architect W. H. Wilcox designed it, and John Haggerty won the construction contract with a bid of $26,364, paid for through bond sales. The county was created in 1893 with no courthouse of its own, and offices were scattered around Hanford until this building opened. Its original courtroom, bench and jury box remain in use. Trials there included murder cases and water litigation, and attorneys such as Earl Rogers and Melvin Belli appeared. It is described as one of the few neo-classical county courthouses left in California.","period_of_significance":"1896","architect_builder":"John Haggerty/W. H. Wilcox","architectural_style":"Neo-classical revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as excellent condition and occupied, in government use; the original courtroom is still used by the Superior Court. The county leases it to the City of Hanford. The state described it as threatened with demolition at the time of nomination.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:31.406198-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/78003063.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78003063/328387f991-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78003063/328387f991-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Armona at en.wikipedia","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kings_County_Courthouse_090407_1.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Armona at en.wikipedia</a>, <a href=\"http://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:Kings_County_Courthouse_090407_1.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123858881","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kings_County_Courthouse_(California)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6412886"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/kings-county/kings-county-courthouse-78003063/"}