My last post on Old Red Courthouse discussed the sandstone materials/lack of steel support structure of the original design meant that the building could not bear the weight of the clock tower. The walls were literally groaning under the weight.
The groaning and squealing of the Dallas County Courthouse continued, unabated, for more than 20 years. Workers toiled away in fear of the building collapsing around them. It was finally decided in 1919 to remove the clock tower all together, as the building could no longer hold it’s weight. The clock tower was dismantled, the huge 4500 pound bell was cut in to pieces and the building stood truncated for decades.
Adding insult to injury, the inside of the building was also being chopped up – in to more and more offices. The mid-20th century was not kind to the Dallas County Courthouse. The end result was a warren of dry-walled offices, complete removal of the gorgeous double staircase and most architectural details being obscured.
Have no fear, things are about to turn around.
Image: a 1972 postcard of the Dallas County Courthouse/Old Red without her clock tower. Courtesy of TexasEscapes.com
