Fairfax County - American Courthouses

Fairfax County is named for Thomas Fairfax, who was the 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron and proprietor of the Northern Neck.

Surrounding County Courthouses:

N – Montgomery County, Maryland and Arlington County

E – Alexandria, Prince George’s County and Charles County

S – Prince William County

W – Loudon County

Surrounds Independent Cities – Fairfax / Falls Church

Created: May 6, 1742

County Seat:

Spring Field 1742 – 1752

Alexandria 1752 – 1799

Fairfax 1799 – present

County Courthouse – Fairfax

Location: 4000 Chain Bridge Road / Main Street

Built: 1799 – 1800

Style: Colonial Revival

Architect: James Wren

Contractor: John Bogue and Marengo Dykes

Description: The building faces east and is a two story red colored brick structure. The building rectangular shaped building faces east and was completed in 1800. The building is located on spacious landscaped grounds in the center of Fairfax. The building was constructed with Flemish Bond brick. The building has a wide first story porch on the east front with large arches. On the center of the roof is a white colored octagonal cupola. The roof is hipped. In the interior, the courtroom is located on the first story and has wooden stairs ascending to a balcony on the second story. There is carved paneling, a fireplace and a blind pedimented architrave behind the judge’s bench. The building was restored in 1965 to 1967. The architect was Walter Macomber. In 1891, a new structure was built to house the jail after the previous jail burned in 1884 and included space for the County Clerk. On the south side is the large addition constructed in 1929 to 1931. The architect was William I Denning. The building was expanded again in 1951 to 1956 with the addition of a center block with large white colored cupola and another wing identical to the 1929 wing. The architect was Robert A Willgoos and Dwight Chase.

See: National Register of Historic Places – Fairfax County Courthouse

County Judicial Center – Fairfax

Location: 4110 Chain Bridge Road / Judicial Drive

Built: 1980 – 1982

Style: Modern

Architect: Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum

Contractor: Equitable Construction Company

Description: The building faces north and is a three story red colored brick, glass and concrete structure. The building is located on spacious landscaped grounds in the center of Fairfax to the south of the courthouse. The center section projects from the main building with three large arched openings. Along the first and second stories are brick arches. The third story windows are horizontal. There is a rectangular shaped courtyard at the center. The roof line is flat. The building houses the County Circuit Court, County general District Court and County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court of the 19th Judicial Circuit. The building is named as the Jennings Judicial Center. In 2004 to 2007, the building was enlarged with construction on the south side and creation of a center open courtyard with higher section on the south side. The architect was HRD Architecture Inc. and Henningson Durham & Richardson of Alexandria and the contractor was Dick Corporation of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

History: The county was created in 1742 and Spring Field (Tysons Corner – Highways 7 and 123)) was selected as the county seat. The first courthouse was built in 1745 on the land of William Fairfax. An addition was built in 1749. In 1752, the county seat was moved to Alexandria and the second courthouse was built by John Carlyle facing Fairfax Street between Cameron Street and King Street in 1752. In 1799, the county seat was moved to Fairfax. The third and present courthouse was constructed in 1799 to 1800. The County Judicial Center was constructed in 1980 to 1982.

Former County Administration Building – Fairfax

Location: 4100 Chain Bridge Road / Main Street

Built: 1967 – 1969

Style: Modern

Architect: Vosbeck, Vosbeck, Kendrick and Redinger

Contractor: Blake Construction

Description: The building faces east and was a twelve story steel, glass and concrete structure. The building was located on the spacious landscaped grounds in the center of Fairfax to the west of the courthouse. The first story had a recesses porch with concrete pillars and glass walls. The windows were vertical. The roof line was flat. The building was named as the Massey Building. The building was demolished in 2019 to 2020.

County Government Center Complex – Fairfax

Location: 12000 Government Center Parkway / Post Forest Drive

Built: 1985 – 1989

Style: Modern

Architect: RTKL Associates of Baltimore, Maryland

Contractor: Unknown

Description: The building faces west and is a three story glass, steel and concrete structure. The building is located on the spacious landscaped grounds of the County Government Center Complex. The building is crescent shaped with an approach drive on the south waest and an oval green space on the northeast side.