- Collection:
- Georgia County Courthouses
- Title:
- Fulton County Courthouse
- Creator:
- Jackson, Edwin L.
- Contributor to Resource:
- Brown, Ten Eyck; Morgan & Dillion
- Date of Original:
- 1911/1914
- Subject:
- Courthouses--Georgia--Fulton County
Courthouses--Georgia--Atlanta - Location:
- United States, Georgia, Fulton County, Atlanta, 33.749, -84.38798
- Medium:
- photographs
- Type:
- Still Image
- Format:
- image/jpeg
- Description:
- Architecture Style: Neoclassical Revival/Beaux Arts Classicism
Courthouse Details: At the time of Fulton County's creation in Dec. 1853, the city of Atlanta was building its first city hall on a hill overlooking Atlanta. City officials had indicated they would be willing to allow the new county to use half of the building as a courthouse, and indeed in May 1854 city and county officials signed an agreement whereby Fulton County could use the new city hall as its courthouse rent-free for as long as it desired. The joint city hall/county courthouse was completed in Oct. 1854 and served both Atlanta and Fulton County for almost 30 years. In 1877, in fulfillment of a pledge city officials made to the legislature in order to keep Atlanta as state capital, Atlanta agreed to tear down the old city hall/county courthouse and build in its place a new state capitol. As a result, Fulton County officials began planning for a new courthouse. At their request, the Georgia General Assembly passed legislation allowing Fulton County to levy a special tax to finance construction of a new courthouse. That facility -- a two-story red brick structure with a prominent clock tower -- was completed in 1882. It was located at the corner of Hunter St. [now MLK Jr. Ave.] and Pryor St. By 1907, plans were underway for a new courthouse, and the legislature passed an act that year allowing the county to issue bonds to finance construction of a new courthouse. In 1911, the old courthouse was torn down, and on the same site work began on Fulton County's third (and present) courthouse. When completed in 1914 at a cost of $1,250,000, Fulton County had Georgia's first million-dollar courthouse. It was also the largest, surpassing in square footage even the Georgia state capitol. However, as large as it was, Fulton County's growing population by the 1960s necessitated additional facilities for the county's government. The courthouse occupied half of a square block, so a new six-story Fulton County Administration Building was built behind it to house county agencies, officials, and the Fulton County Commission. By the 1980s, however, county government had outgrown existing facilities, so in 1986 work began on a new Fulton County Government Center -- a large complex across the street from the entrance of the courthouse. Completed in 1989, this became the home for Fulton County administrative and legislative offices. In the mid-1990s, the old Administration Building was torn down and replaced by the nine-story Fulton County Justice Center Tower. - External Identifiers:
- Metadata URL:
- http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/id:dlg_gacoch_fulton-county-courthouse
- Digital Object URL:
- http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/do:dlg_gacoch_fulton-county-courthouse
- Holding Institution:
- Digital Library of Georgia
- Rights:
-
