Suffolk County Courthouse facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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John Adams Courthouse
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 Location in Boston
Location in Massachusetts
Location in the United States
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| Location | 3 Pemberton Square, Boston, Massachusetts |
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| Area | 2 acres (0.81 ha) |
| Built | 1894 |
| Architect | George A. Clough |
| Architectural style | Second Empire |
| NRHP reference No. | 74000391 |
| Added to NRHP | May 8, 1974 |
The John Adams Courthouse is a historic and very important building in Boston, Massachusetts. It's located in Pemberton Square and is home to the state's highest courts: the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and the Massachusetts Appeals Court. This grand building was finished in 1893. It was designed by George Albert Clough, who was Boston's first city architect. The courthouse is one of the few large public buildings from the late 1800s that still stands in Boston. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974 because of its historical importance.
What Does the Courthouse Look Like?
The John Adams Courthouse stands on the west side of Pemberton Square. This area is now an open space with the courthouse on one side. The building is made of granite and has six floors. It's quite wide, with many windows across its front.
The bottom part of the building looks like a raised basement. It has small, arched windows close to the ground. Above these are larger rectangular windows. Higher up, there's a section with big, rounded archways. Inside these arches are pairs of windows with half-round windows above them.
A decorative border separates this level from a narrower band of windows. Above that is a special two-level roof called a mansard roof. This roof has different kinds of windows sticking out of it. The ends of the main front of the building stick out a bit, rising up to the roof.
A Look Back in Time
The John Adams Courthouse was built in 1893. It was designed by George Albert Clough, a well-known architect in Boston. At the time, people described its style as "German Renaissance." Today, it's seen as a mix between the grand Second Empire style, like Boston's Old City Hall, and the more classic Classical Revival style. This courthouse was Clough's biggest and most detailed design for the city. He also designed an addition to the building in 1909, which added the French Chateau-style roof.
From 1893 to 1938, the building was known as the Suffolk County Courthouse. During this time, it housed the Supreme Judicial Court and the Social Law Library. Then, in 2002, after being restored, the Supreme Judicial Court, the Massachusetts Appeals Court, and the Social Law Library all moved back into the building. That's when it was officially renamed the John Adams Courthouse.
Gallery
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Entrance to the new Suffolk County Courthouse, completed in 1937, adjacent to the John Adams Courthouse, and currently home to the Suffolk County Superior Court
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The south side of the Suffolk County Courthouse as viewed from the Tremont Street steps
