Yolo County Courthouse | |
 The Yolo County Courthouse as it appeared in 2011. | |
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| Location | 725 Court St., Woodland, California |
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| Coordinates | 38°40′46″N 121°46′17″W / 38.67945°N 121.77125°W |
| Built | 1917 |
| Architect | William Henry Weeks |
| Architectural style | Beaux Arts, Spanish Revival |
| Part of | Downtown Woodland Historic District (ID99000471) |
| NRHP reference No. | 86003660[1] |
| Added to NRHP | February 26, 1987[2] |
The Yolo County Courthouse was a courthouse for the Superior Court of California in Yolo County in Woodland, California until 2015. The original building was erected in 1864, and was used for 37 years until condemned in 1911. The edifice, built in the same location in 1917, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987, and is also a contributing property in the Downtown Woodland Historic District.
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Planning for a New Courthouse in Woodland
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Yolo DA Jeff Reisig Hides Evidence - The Other Side of the False Press Releases
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Planning for the new courthouse in Yolo County is moving right along. This city block in downtown Woodland has just been approved for acquisition by the State Public Works Board. Presiding Judge Rosenberg says a new courthouse is long overdue. Hon. David Rosenberg, Yolo Superior Court Presiding Judge “We’re sort of the poster child in California for courtroom facilities that are deficient.” The main courthouse is on the National Register of Historic Places, built in 1917 to serve about 25,000 people. More than 200,000 live here now, making almost 400,000 court visits each year. They line up outside on slippery steps in all kinds of weather. Inside, clerks are jammed into tiny work spaces, files are crammed in everywhere. There’s no place to store supplies, so they stash them in the old walk-in safes. This network closet doubles as a break room for folks who provide perimeter screening. And don’t look for a public restroom on the first floor – there is none. Shawn Landry, Assistant Court Executive Officer “So if the public needs to use the rest room they have to take our only elevator in the building which has been out :three times just this month.” The public areas have no air conditioning – in a town that gets up over a hundred degrees many summer days. Andrae Randolph, Yolo Court IS Manager “It gets really stagnant.” Originally there were 2 small courtrooms in this building. Certainly not ADA compliant. The old decorative cement tiles remain, but they could shake loose in an earthquake. Over the years they carved out another 6 courtrooms like this one, less than half the size of California standards. Hon. David Rosenberg, Yolo Superior Court Presiding Judge “So we always have people standing through the jury selection process; not a pretty picture.” There are six more courtrooms and support services in seven other locations. Hon. David Rosenberg, Yolo Superior Court Presiding Judge “I’ve got courtrooms all over the city in trailers, in rented facilities, we’ve got courtrooms scattered throughout Woodland.” One of them is Department 9 across the street from the main building. It’s also the holding area for inmates bused in from the jail across town. When it’s time for court, the daily parade literally stops traffic. Shawn Landry, Assistant Court Executive Officer “They’re chain ganged and brought across the street here, third street, and they go in this door, through the public hallway, the same door that the judges use to leave the courthouse and go to the parking lot, the judges parking lot right there, which is also intermingled with the public parking lot.” A whole lot more dangerous intermingling goes on in the hallways: jurors, witnesses, victims, defendants, staff and judges all mix in together. These folks are lined up in the public hallway to report for jury service. Hon. David Rosenberg, Yolo Superior Court Presiding Judge “In the new courthouse, there’ll be separate pathways for the public, for people who’re charged with crime in custody, for courthouse staff and judges, the way it should be.” And all court business will be consolidated in a safe place under one roof. Hon. David Rosenberg, Yolo Superior Court Presiding Judge “What a wonderful thing for the community, to be able to do one stop shopping; to be in one building where all services all courtrooms will be available.” As soon as the city and the Administrative Office of the Courts close escrow on the site, the architects go to work. A grand opening for the 163-thousand square foot courthouse is planned for 2015. I’m Leanne Kozak reporting in Yolo County for California Courts News.
History
The land for the first courthouse was offered to the county supervisors by Frank Freeman, one of Woodland's founders. He offered an entire city block with the boundaries of Court, North, Second, and Third Streets. Albert Bennett, an architect from Sacramento, who also worked among other architects on the California State Capitol building, was hired by the Yolo County Board of Supervisors to design one of the city's first major landmarks.[3] A builder named P. McManus was chosen for the construction and was hired on June 26, 1863, for $24,250, and was to have it built by October 1, 1864.[4] The final result was a two-story brick Italianate style edifice, $27,858 in the making.[3] Not only was the dollar amount more than what was expected, but the construction also took longer than planned.[4] Subsequent earthquakes in 1892, 1904, and 1906 weakened the structural integrity of the building and damaged the ventilation system. In 1908 one judge moved his court out of the building due to odor in the building. The Yolo County Grand Jury, Board of Supervisors, and the California State Board of Health found the building "unsanitary and unfit for the transactions of the court" on January 4, 1911.[5]
On October 17, 1911 the supervisors held a county-wide election to approve a $300,000 bond measure that would pay for the new courthouse to be built. The measure lacked the consensus needed, and it was put up again in the next election on December 28, 1911, failing another time. In the meantime, the court moved its offices.[5]
In 1916 the Board of Supervisors placed another measure on the ballot for $200,000. The citizens passed the measure and the old courthouse was demolished to make room for the construction of a new building. A ceremony was held with a crowd of 3,000, and the Grand Lodge of Masons of California laid the cornerstone of the new courthouse. All businesses and schools were closed for the celebration.[5]
William Henry Weeks, who completed several works in Woodland including the Woodland Public Library, was the architect and Robert Trost, from San Francisco, was the contractor. It is an example of the Beaux-Arts architecture style.[3] The building was completed in 1917 and the price totaled $300,000.
The courthouse was extensively remodeled on the interior during the 1980s[5] and placed on the National Register of Historic Places near the end of 1986.[1] The courthouse originally held other county administrative offices, but as the courts have grown, those have been relocated.[4] As of today, the interior has undergone new construction without compromising the historical features. It is now the new home of the Yolo County Probation Department.[4][6]
Architecture
The new building's architecture displays influences of Greek, Roman, and Renaissance architecture. It features two full stories, as well as an attic and a basement.[4] The concrete exterior was made of Colusa sandstone, and the cornices were made with material from a terra cotta factory in Lincoln, California.[5] When Weeks showed visitors around the new courthouse he was quoted as saying, "This courthouse is the most beautiful in California, and I have built and rebuilt many of them and have seen them all..."[4][5]
On the inside, the courthouse has a rotunda on both the second and third floors with a main corridor spanning the length of the building. Each rotunda is made of marble pilaster columns with decorative murals in niches located near them. Both the rotundas and corridors are made from cut and polished marble with decorative copper handrails and hand-blown, egg-shaped glass light fixtures.[4]
References
- ^ a b "National Register of Historic Places". NationalRegisterofHistoricPlaces.com. 2009-03-13.
- ^ "Weekly Register List 1987" (PDF). National Park Service. Department of the Interior. p. 26. Retrieved 2009-05-27.
- ^ a b c Wilkinson, David (2003). "Albert A. Bennett". Crafting a Valley Jewel: Architects and Builders of Woodland. Woodland, CA: Yolo County Historical Society. p. 26. ISBN 1-892626-06-3.
- ^ a b c d e f g "History of the Yolo County Courthouse". Superior Court of California, County of Yolo. Retrieved 2009-05-27.
- ^ a b c d e f Walters, Shipley (1995). "Dawn of a New Century". Woodland a City of Trees: A History. Woodland, California: Yolo County Historical Society. p. 64.
- ^ Gay, Dino. "Staff wants council to promise parking structure construction and operation". Woodland Record. Retrieved 2009-05-27.
Further reading
- Ray McDevitt; Ronald M. George, Chief Justice of California (Forward) (2001). Courthouses of California: an Illustrated History. Berkeley, CA: California Historical Society. p. 365. ISBN 1-890771-49-X.
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This page was last edited on 5 August 2023, at 19:05