Adventure 051, Site 163 – Merced County Courthouse

Capture California, the Game-2012

Adventure: 051, Site 163 – Merced County Courthouse

National Registry ID: 1975000441

Team: Thing One, Thing Two

Date:  September 22, 2012

Location:

Latitude: 37°18′22″N

Longitude: 120°29′00″W

Address: West 21st and N Streets, Merced, CA

Description:

Date Built: 1875

Architect: A. A. Bennett, the State Capital Architect

This is the second county courthouse in Merced County (the first is in Snelling) and it does show the pride of the area. Since we started on this historical adventure a couple of weeks ago, Thing Two has been lamenting the loss of Fresno's old courthouse. The courthouse in Merced was its twin, not quite identical, but maybe its superior, at least in the people of Merced's eyes.



From NRHP:
This building is the best proportioned and well handled of its type in central California. Its facade, rendered eclectically in the Italian Renaissance style, is typical of the American esthetic for public buildings before the turn of the century. True to tradition, this courthouse symbolically illustrates the American ideal of respect for justice.



Significance:

1. This courthouse is a physical reminder of the transition of the area from a struggling pioneer community to a prospering county.
   
2. This building was and still is a major visual city and county landmark.
3. This building is one of few historic buildings that has suffered only minor alteration to its original appearance. Although courthouse functions were moved to a new building in March of 1975, this building served its original purpose for 100 years.
4. This building is the best example of the Italian Renaissance revival remaining between Sacramento and Los Angeles.
5. This building's almost identical twin has already been destroyed.
6. This building is in itself a museum of genre architecture.
7. This building could be used in the future as a county cultural museum and/or a county agricultural museum. There is no museum in Merced at this time.

References:

• National Registry of Historical Places-Documents and Photos
  
• Waymarking
  

Overall Landmark References:

• National Registry of Historical Places (NRHP)
  
• WayMarking (WAY)