The Pershing County Courthouse in Lovelock, Nevada

Lovelock, Nevada

Lovelock is a city in western Nevada that is the county seat of Pershing County, the location of a prison, and the namesake of the area's Cold War gunnery range...

 is a Classical Revival building built in 1920-21. The courthouse's plan is hexagonal with a circular dome over the central circular courtroom. The building was designed by Frederic Joseph DeLongchamps

Frederic Joseph DeLongchamps

Frederic Joseph DeLongchamps was an American architect. He was one of Nevada's most prolific architects, yet is notable for entering the architectural profession with no extensive formal training.-Early life and education:...

, who had previously designed six other Nevada

Nevada

Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...

 courthouses. DeLongchamps was involved in the design of a new courthouse for Humboldt County

Humboldt County, Nevada

Humboldt County is a county located in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of 2007, the population was estimated to be 18,052. Its county seat is Winnemucca.The county was the site of an arrest in 2000 that led to the U.S. Supreme Court decision Hiibel v...

, where the old courthouse had burned. As a result of resentment over assessments for the replacement in Winnemucca

Winnemucca, Nevada

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 7,174 people, 2,736 households, and 1,824 families residing in the city. The population density was 867.5 people per square mile . There were 3,280 housing units at an average density of 396.6 per square mile...

, the new Pershing County

Pershing County, Nevada

Pershing County is a county located in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2000 census, the population was 6,693. Its county seat is Lovelock. The county was named after army general John J. Pershing . It was formed from Humboldt County in 1919, and the last county to be established in...

 was created from part of Humboldt County and its seat established in Lovelock. DeLongchamps, as Supervising Architect for the State of Nevada, undertook the new Lovelock courthouse.

The courthouse features a shallow Ionic

Ionic order

The Ionic order forms one of the three orders or organizational systems of classical architecture, the other two canonic orders being the Doric and the Corinthian...

 portico on a raised basement backed by a plain rectangular mass. Behind this is the hexagonal main body of the courthouse, built with curving walls. A shallow dome, reminiscent of Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...

's University of Virginia Library, crowns the central courtroom. The primary building materials are brick with stone trim and terra cotta

Terra cotta

Terracotta, Terra cotta or Terra-cotta is a clay-based unglazed ceramic, although the term can also be applied to glazed ceramics where the fired body is porous and red in color...

detailing. Construction cost amounted to $99,138.68.

External links

• Pershing County Courthouse, Online Nevada Encyclopedia