Michigan's County Courthouses

Genesee County

54 FliNT—There are two sides to the present Genesee County Courthouse: old and new, twentieth and twentyfirst century, respectively. Such is the consequence of the decision to build a modern addition to the historic building and to meticulously restore the interior. The connection between past and present is by no means seamless, but there is an intended and obvious level of continuity. Genesee derives its name from Genesee County, New York, the original home of many early settlers. The Flint River was named for its rocky bed, which Native Americans called Pawanunking. The town got its current name in , having been called at various times Grand Traverse, Todd’s Crossing, and Flint River. The territorial government created Genesee County on March , . For judicial purposes , it initially remained attached to Oakland County. During  and , Genesee County used for court purposes the upper story of Stage & Wright’s store and hall above the store that Benjamin Pearson owned. The first courthouse was built in  on the land where the current one stands. An early illustration depicts it as a simple light-colored two-story building with a peaked roof and two chimneys. it was made of solid oak logs with a jail on the ground floor and the courtroom above it. A fire that an inmate likely started burned it to the ground on February , . Over the coming months the county built the second courthouse, which was completed in  for $,. it was brick with two stories and a bell tower. it remained in use until . The following year the county completed work on a Renaissance Revival building with a large dome as its most prominent feature. it was completed on April , , just under the budgeted $, by Reed Brothers Contracting. it was dedicated during Flint’s golden jubilee, with vice president Charles W. Fairbanks attending. This building too succumbed to fire on March , . Photographs on display depict the old courthouse in ruins, Genesee County GENESEE COuNTY 55 gutted and covered in ice from the spewing fire hoses. in its wake on the ides of March came the eve of several years of debate surrounding plans for a new courthouse. Finally the county, after rejecting other proposals, approved $, for the new building, which was built in  and . it came in under budget at $, and three weeks early. Frederick D. Madison of Royal Oak designed the neoclassical structure, which looks very much like several federal courthouses in Michigan that were built during the same architectural era. At the building’s completion, the board of supervisors released a resolution that read in part: Behold! Here it is, an ornate, finished product of cumulative intelligence, culture, and character; modern , massive and distinctive, without rotunda or dome, enclosing useless space; built for service, being composed of corridors, and rooms, spacious and commodious , harmoniously arranged into groups of mutual relations, suited to complex Public functions and usefulness . . . . The full resolution is on display inside the courthouse. The building is five stories and has a concrete-frame structure that is faced with indiana limestone. it also features marble wainscoting, American walnut woodwork, and wrought iron handrails.Two large bronze standards are near the Saginaw Street entrance. They hold glass globes, beneath which are light fixtures. Thirty years after this building’s unveiling, it welcomed a neighbor on the southwest corner that would house probate court. The Frank l. MacAvinchey Building stood four stories tall, was modern and utilitarian in design, and was razed to make way for the courthouse’s current addition. CHMP, inc., designed the curved-face but otherwise polygonal addition. Sorensen Gross Construction Co., inc., broke ground on September , , the seventy-fourth anniversary of the groundbreaking for the  building. The new addition was dedicated on July , . The hallmark of the courthouse is its art. The courtrooms on the old side of the building have murals, whereas the modern addition does not. They survived in spite of renovations in the s that added air conditioning, lowered ceilings, and painted over or carted away the artwork of Edgar Spier Cameron of illinois. Recent restorations have faithfully returned the courtroom murals. Planning for the renovation began in , and work was completed after several stages with rededication events on September –, . Courtroom  was spared the most and remained truest to its historical appearance. Above the bench from left to right are three figures in separate sections depicting Mosaic, Natural, and Roman law. There are also two fasces, a Roman symbol of authority, which are bundles of rods bound around an ax. Portraits...