Multnomah County Courthouse
Encyclopedia
Multnomah County Courthouse serves as the courthouse for Multnomah County, Oregon
and its Sheriff's Office
. It is located in downtown
, Portland, Oregon
, the county seat. It currently includes 39 courtrooms, 36 of which are district court
s, two are traffic court
s, and one used for forced eviction
detainment.
floors and walls of terra-cotta brick, covered with plaster. At the time, it was the largest courthouse on the west coast
and served also as county seat
and county jail.
Originally, the building had a central courtyard, where prohibition-era
confiscated alcohol was poured down a drain; over time, this courtyard was filled in to make room for more offices and a jury room. The courthouse has four two-story courtrooms which feature most of the courthouse's original design; some two-story courtrooms were split horizontally during the 1950s, expanding capacity and resulting in new floors.
Further renovation of the courthouse has been under consideration since at least 1970, with studies starting in the 1990s also considering building a new courthouse. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1979.
A February 2001 earthquake exposed weaknesses in the building's structure. Plans for the addition of a new floor, the infill of the light well and a major seismic retrofit
are under consideration; the plans would cost between $176–220 million (in 2011 dollars).
Multnomah County, Oregon
Multnomah County is one of 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. Though smallest in area, it is the most populous as its county seat, Portland, is the state's largest city...
and its Sheriff's Office
Multnomah County Sheriff's Office
Multnomah County Sheriff's Office serves the close to 700,000 residents of Multomah County, Oregon, United States. Multnomah County Sheriff's Office is a County Law Enforcement agency that handles 9-1-1 calls and assists other city agencies such as Portland Police Bureau. The current Sheriff is...
. It is located in downtown
Downtown Portland
Downtown Portland, the city center of Portland, Oregon, United States, is located on the west bank of the Willamette River. It is in the northeastern corner of the southwest section of the city and is where most of the city's high-rise buildings are found....
, Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, the county seat. It currently includes 39 courtrooms, 36 of which are district court
District court
District courts are a category of courts which exists in several nations. These include:-Australia:District Court is the name given to the intermediate court in most Australian States. They hear indictable criminal offences excluding treason, murder and, in some States, manslaughter...
s, two are traffic court
Traffic court
Traffic court is a term that refers to a municipality's specialized judicial process for handling traffic ticket cases. In the United States, a person who is given a citation by a police officer can either plead guilty and pay the indicated fine directly to the court house, by mail, or in some...
s, and one used for forced eviction
Eviction
How you doing???? Eviction is the removal of a tenant from rental property by the landlord. Depending on the laws of the jurisdiction, eviction may also be known as unlawful detainer, summary possession, summary dispossess, forcible detainer, ejectment, and repossession, among other terms...
detainment.
History
Multnomah County Courthouse was built in two phases between 1909 and 1914 at a total cost of $1.6 million; to make it fire-resistant, it was constructed of concrete-encased steel, with concrete slabConcrete slab
A concrete slab is a common structural element of modern buildings. Horizontal slabs of steel reinforced concrete, typically between 10 and 50 centimeters thick, are most often used to construct floors and ceilings, while thinner slabs are also used for exterior paving.In many domestic and...
floors and walls of terra-cotta brick, covered with plaster. At the time, it was the largest courthouse on the west coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
and served also as county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
and county jail.
Originally, the building had a central courtyard, where prohibition-era
Prohibition in the United States
Prohibition in the United States was a national ban on the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol, in place from 1920 to 1933. The ban was mandated by the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution, and the Volstead Act set down the rules for enforcing the ban, as well as defining which...
confiscated alcohol was poured down a drain; over time, this courtyard was filled in to make room for more offices and a jury room. The courthouse has four two-story courtrooms which feature most of the courthouse's original design; some two-story courtrooms were split horizontally during the 1950s, expanding capacity and resulting in new floors.
Further renovation of the courthouse has been under consideration since at least 1970, with studies starting in the 1990s also considering building a new courthouse. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1979.
A February 2001 earthquake exposed weaknesses in the building's structure. Plans for the addition of a new floor, the infill of the light well and a major seismic retrofit
Seismic retrofit
Seismic retrofitting is the modification of existing structures to make them more resistant to seismic activity, ground motion, or soil failure due to earthquakes. With better understanding of seismic demand on structures and with our recent experiences with large earthquakes near urban centers,...
are under consideration; the plans would cost between $176–220 million (in 2011 dollars).
See also
- Architecture in Portland, OregonArchitecture in Portland, OregonPortland architecture includes a number of notable buildings, a wide range of styles, and a few notable pioneering architects.The scale of many projects is relatively small, as a result of the relatively small size of downtown-Portland blocks and strict height restrictions enacted to protect views...
- List of Registered Historic Places in Multnomah County, Oregon