The Law Courts building is the main courthouse

Courthouse

A courthouse is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English speaking countries, buildings which house courts of law are simply...

 in the city of Edmonton

Edmonton

Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...

, the capital of Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

. It hosts hearings of the Provincial Court of Alberta

Provincial Court of Alberta

The Provincial Court of Alberta is a Provincial Court for the Canadian province of Alberta. The court oversees matters relating to criminal law, family law, youth law, civil law and traffic laws....

, the Alberta Court of Queen's Bench, and the Court of Appeal of Alberta

Court of Appeal of Alberta

The Court of Appeal of Alberta is an Canadian appellate court.-Jurisdiction and Hierarchy within Canadian Courts:The Court is the highest court in Alberta, Canada...

. The courthouse is located at 1A Sir Winston Churchill Square, in Downtown Edmonton

Downtown Edmonton

Downtown Edmonton is bounded by 109 Street to the west, 105 Avenue to the north, 97 Street to the east, 97 Avenue, 100 Avenue, and Rossdale Road to the south and Jasper Avenue to the southeast , though many people consider part or all of the surrounding neighborhoods to be part of downtown...

.

History

During Edmonton's years as frontier settlement, and later as a booming railway hub, in the North-West Territories, Edmonton's courts lacked a purpose-built courthouse and relied on rented space. Edmonton was repeatedly passed over while purpose-build courthouse were constructed in much smaller, younger settlements. This finally changed when Edmonton became the capital of the new province of Alberta.

In 1908 construction began on new Beaux-Arts/Greek revival courthouse, on what is now the west side of Churchill Square, to the southeast of the current Law Courts where the Edmonton City Centre

Edmonton City Centre

Edmonton City Centre is a shopping mall in downtown Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, across the street from Churchill Square.-History:In 1974, the City Centre Place shopping mall was completed within the larger Edmonton Centre development; TD Tower was added in 1976. In 1978, Oxford Tower and the...

 mall now stands. It was completed in 1912 and demolished in 1972.

Current architecture

The current, brutalist building was built in the early 1970s and is reminiscent of Boston City Hall

Boston City Hall

Boston City Hall is the seat of the municipal government of Boston, Massachusetts. Architecturally, it is an example of the brutalist style. It was designed by Kallmann McKinnell & Knowles...

.