Dallas County - American Courthouses

Dallas County is named for George Mifflin Dallas, who was the eleventh Vice President of the United States.

Surrounding County Courthouses:

N – Denton County and Collin County

E – Rockwall County and Kaufman County

S – Ellis County

W – Tarrant County

Created: March 30, 1846

County Seat:

Dallas 1846 – present

Old County Courthouse – Dallas

Location: 100 South Houston Street / Main Street

Built: 1890 – 1892

Style: Romanesque Revival

Architect: Orlopp and Kusener of Little Rock, Arkansas

Contractor: Robert L James

Description: The building faces east and is a four story red colored sandstone and blue granite structure. In the center of the building rises a high square clock tower. The building has round towers on each corner. The building is now the Museum of Dallas History and is known as the “Old Red Courthouse”. The building was restored in 2007. The architect was James Pratt Design and the contractor was Thomas S Byrne General Construction.

See: The architect, Maximillan A Orlopp Jr. of New Orleans, Louisiana also designed the courthouse in Missouri in Jasper County.

County Courthouse – Dallas

Location: 600 Commerce Street / Market Street

Built: 1963 – 1966

Style: Modern

Architect: The Associated Architects and Engineers – Thomas D Broad, Donald S Nelson, Jack Corgon & Associates, Arthur E Thomas, Robert O Jamieson, W Ralph Merrill, E Carlyle Smith and Marshall H Warder

Contractor: Granite Construction Company

Description: The building faces north and is a twelve story concrete, glass and steel structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Dallas and faces north onto the Dallas County Historic Plaza. The north front of the building has glass walls on each story divided by horizontal concrete dividers. On the south side, the east and west ends are glass and the center of the building is a solid concrete wall with recessed sections on either side. The building houses the County District Court – Civil and County Court at Law of the 1st Administrative Judicial Region. The building was originally named as the Dallas County Government Center and was later named for George L. Allen Sr. The building also houses the Fifth Court of Appeals on the second story.

Note: The Associated Architects and Engineers comprised the following architects -Thomas D Broad, Donald S Nelson, Jack Corgon & Associates, Arthur E Thomas, Robert O Jamieson, W Ralph Merrill, E Carlyle Smith and Marshall H Warder

See: The 1st Administrative Judicial Region has a main office at McKinney in Collin County.

Old County Criminal Courthouse – Dallas

Location: 500 Main Street / South Houston Street

Built: 1911 – 1913

Style: Commercial

Architect: H A Overbeck

Contractor: Grisman and Nesbit

Description: The building faces south and is an eight story red colored brick, stone and concrete structure. The first and second stories have buff colored stone facing. The upper stories have red colored brick with stone trim. The south front has a central stone framed entrance. The windows on the second story are large. The roof line is flat.

County Criminal Courthouse – Dallas

Location: 133 North Riverfront Boulevard / Commerce Street

Built: 1982 – 1983

Style: Modern

Architect: Coe Design Group Inc. of Dallas

Contractor: Unknown

Description: The building faces east and is a nine story red colored brick, concrete, glass and steel structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds to the west of the center of Dallas. There is a north and south section with recessed center section which has a large arch and glass walls. The roof line is flat. The building is named as the Frank Crowley Courts Building. The building houses the County District Court – Criminal – Criminal and County District Court – Family of the 1st Administrative Judicial Region. On the west side is the Lew Sterrett Justice Center.

Note: The County Constitutional Court and County Probate Court are located in the Renaissance Tower at 1201 Elm Street and North Field Street. The County District Court – Juvenile is located in the County Juvenile Justice Center at 2600 Lone Stat Drive and Terre Colony Drive to the west of the center of Dallas.