{"nrhp_refnum":"87002101","name":"Scioto County Courthouse","other_names":["Scioto County Courthouse Building No. 10"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Bounded by Seventh, Court, Sixth, & Washington Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Portsmouth","county":"Scioto County","state":"OH","lat":38.73523940300004,"lon":-83.00013320999994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1987-12-08","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Scioto County Courthouse is a four-story government building at Sixth and Court Streets in Portsmouth, Ohio, built in 1923-24 as the county's third courthouse. It is faced in gray marble over brick and was designed by Cincinnati architect John Scudder Adkins.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the courthouse is a good example of Second Renaissance Revival architecture, with the monumental scale common for major public buildings of its period. Its austere exterior and light, open interior show skillful design. It also reflects the growth, prosperity and optimism of the Portsmouth area in the 1920s.","narrative":"Scioto County Courthouse, at Sixth and Court Streets in Portsmouth, Ohio, was built in 1923-24 as the county's third courthouse. It replaced an 1837 building that had stood on land donated by Henry Brush, and the site has served as the courthouse location for about 150 years. Cincinnati architect John Scudder Adkins designed it in a monumental Second Renaissance Revival style. Brick walls are covered with a veneer of gray marble, and ten colossal Ionic columns tie the second and third floors together on the main facade. The fourth floor originally housed the county jail. Inside, a two-story rotunda with a colored-glass dome, murals, marble columns and coffered wood ceilings contrasts with the severe exterior. The building was recognized as a good example of the monumental public architecture of its era and as an expression of local optimism during a period of rapid growth.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"John Scudder Adkins (architect); builder unknown","architectural_style":"Second Renaissance Revival","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Still used as the county courthouse; the inventory lists present use as courthouse, public ownership, and not endangered.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:14.906275-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/87002101.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/87002101/80fbf2dc25-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/87002101/80fbf2dc25-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Spongefan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Scioto_County_Courthouse.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Spongefan</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:Scioto_County_Courthouse.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71986072","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138672417"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/scioto-county/scioto-county-courthouse-87002101/"}