kids encyclopedia robot

Metropolitan Courthouse facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
Metropolitan Courthouse
Metropolitan Courthouse Albuquerque New Mexico.jpg
General information
Status Complete
Type Office
Location 401 Lomas Blvd. NW, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Coordinates 35°5′30″N 106°39′04″W / 35.09167°N 106.65111°W / 35.09167; -106.65111
Construction started 2001
Completed 2003
Cost $83 million
Height
Roof 53.3 m (175 ft)
Technical details
Floor count 9
Floor area 244,000 sq ft
Lifts/elevators 10
Design and construction
Architect DCSW Architects
Main contractor Bradbury Stamm Construction

The Metropolitan Courthouse is a courthouse in downtown Albuquerque, New Mexico, housing the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court. The building is located on the northwest corner of 4th Street and Lomas Boulevard in an area known as the Courthouse District. The courthouse rises 175 feet (53 m) and has nine stories. Designed by DCSW Architects in a contemporary Art Deco style, it features a three-story rotunda finished with granite, marble, and travertine and a 36-foot (11 m) sculpture of the scales of justice.

Ground was broken on the project in May 2001 and the building was topped out the following June. The courthouse opened for business on January 20, 2004, replacing the old Metro Courthouse at 4th and Roma.

From 2005 to 2009, the Metro Courthouse was at the center of a high-profile fraud investigation, during which allegations emerged that a group of conspirators had siphoned off $4.2 million from the courthouse construction project in a scheme described by the Albuquerque Journal as "breathtaking in scope and star power." Eight people were eventually named as defendants in the case, including the former president pro tempore of the New Mexico State Senate and a former mayor of Albuquerque. The investigation ended with six of the accused pleading guilty to conspiracy and mail fraud, while the other two pleaded guilty to misprision of felony.

kids search engine
Metropolitan Courthouse Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.