History of Old Courthouse
First I'd like to give you a very brief history of the Old Courthouse. In 1816 land was donated for a courthouse in St. Louis. This land is just west of the St. Louis riverfront. A federal style brick courthouse was first built on the site in 1828. By the mid 1830's St. Louis had already outgrown this courthouse. In 1839 construction began on the current courthouse which incorporated the original courthouse as part of the east wing. Other revisions have been made to the courthouse over the years and the courts remained in the building until 1930. In 1935 the courthouse became a National Monument and today it hosts many visitors. The view below is from the southwest.
Important Events at Old Courthouse
There have been many important decisions made and events happening at the Old Courthouse.
Two of the most well known include:
- 1847 and 1850 Dred and Harriet Scott sued for their freedom.
- 1872 Virginia Minor sued for the right to vote.
Both of these cases ended up going to the Supreme Court and lost. But they are both considered to be key turning points in history.
Prior to the Civil war slaves were sold on the courthouse steps. See the plaque below along with two photos depicting the Dred Scott case.
Photographing the Old Courthouse
I was able to go down to the Old Courthouse on two different occasions in September and was able to photograph the Old Courthouse from different angles. The photo below shows the courthouse in a distance as I was walking through the park just west of the courthouse.
In 1965 the opening of the Gateway Arch changed the landscape of downtown St. Louis. Since that time a popular photo of the Old Courthouse is one where it is framed by the arch as you see in the photo below.
On my second visit during September to photograph down by the arch and courthouse we arrived before sunrise and were able to get some photographs in the early morning light.
Zazzle Items from my Photographs
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