Bristol County Courthouse Complex

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bristol County Courthouse Complex
(U.S. Registered Historic District)
Location: 9, 11, 15 Court St.
Taunton, Massachusetts
Architect: Frank Irving Cooper
Added to NRHP: March 28, 1978
NRHP Reference#: 78000427
Governing body: County of Bristol

The Bristol County Courthouse Complex Historic District is a thirteen-acre area of Taunton, Massachusetts. It is known by residents simply as (part of) "the Green" or “Downtown.” The Bristol County Courthouse Complex Historic District includes the Bristol County Superior Courthouse, the Bristol Probate and Family Courthouse, and the former Taunton District Courthouse. Several war memorials stand on the Courthouse lawn, such as the city’s Korean War Memorial and World War II Memorial statues.

Contents

[edit] Bristol County Superior Courthouse

Bristol County Superior Courthouse in Taunton, with the Soper Fountain in the foreground.
Bristol County Superior Courthouse in Taunton, with the Soper Fountain in the foreground.

The Bristol County Superior Courthouse is a late nineteenth-century Romanesque-style copper-domed courthouse building that faces one side of the city square, also known as the "Taunton Green." The county’s most prominent court proceedings are located in the building's designated court room.

[edit] Law Library

The district's law library is located in the upper floor dome section of the courthouse. It includes dozens of stacks of various law-related publications, including other library services.

[edit] Bristol Probate and Family Courthouse

The Bristol Probate and Family Courthouse is a Greek Revival-style courthouse building located between the city’s superior courthouse and the former district courthouse on Court Street.

[edit] Taunton District Courthouse

The former Taunton District Courthouse is a Colonial Revival-style building located near the county’s probate and family court on Court Street. It is plagued by water leakage and other structural problems, which eventually led for the district court to be moved to a temporary location elsewhere in the city.

[edit] Temporary location

The Taunton District Courthouse is currently located in a temporary location in the city’s former century-old Cohannet Middle School building on Cohannet Street. This will serve as the city’s district court until a new permanent location is built, which has been proposed somewhere in or around of the historic district.

[edit] External links

This article about a Registered Historic Place in Massachusetts is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.