Texas Courthouse Trails : Fort Worth, Dallas and Denton (Redo's)

Tarrant Co Courthouse
in shade at 10am

February 9th, Monday
I would be traveling with my good friend David Billingsley as we endeavored to photograph the courthouses in Tarrant, Denton and Dallas counties. It was a little foggy when we left Houston on I-45 at 5:10 am but the sun came up and it was a beautiful clear blue sky day. My purpose in today's trip was to take some better photos of the courthouses in Fort Worth, Dallas and Denton. I have been to Fort Worth on two prior occasions and photographed the courthouse but not to my stantards. The Denton County courthouse was closed on my first visit and I know the interior is quite stunning. The Dallas County courthouse, Old Red, is now a museum and I was hoping to get a photo of the old courtroom. David and I motored up I-45 stopping in Huntsville for a coffee break. We turned on US287 taking us to Fort Worth. David's Apple Lite tablet with GPS took us right to the Tarrant County courthouse. My first glance at the courthouse and I knew immediately that it was a wasted stop.

The complete front facade of the courthouse was in the shadow of a large skyscraper and it would be a couple of hours before the sun would light up the pink granite stone. It was not the photo I wanted. I tend to take these things in stride and took a great shot of the east side of the courthouse which was in sun and brightly lit. I think the shots of what I have of the Tarrant County courthouse will have to do for now.

Tarrant County Courthouse on a prior trip

David entered "Denton, Tx" into his tablet GPS and we found ourselves on I-35W headed north. Denton was about 35 miles away.
The interstate "freeways" around Fort Worth and Dallas seem to be in continuous construction mode, like our I-45 in Houston. It was the main reason we avoided these big cities of north Texas until now.

The Denton County courthouse sits in the middle of a very large square in the middle of Denton, Texas. The courthouse square is the highest elevation in Denton making the courthouse visible from any point of view in the downtown area. Denton is home to North Texas State University. There are lots of kids walking around with backpacks in the downtown area.
The courthouse was designed by W. C. Dodson, who also supervised it's construction. The initial cost was $80,000 but ballooned to $150,000 before it was completed in 1896. The layout is typical of most Texas courthouses, with the clerk and other business offices on the first floor and the courtroom on the second floor. This courthouse has a third floor balcony allowing more people to attend trials. Denton County has a new, modern courthouse building and this one is used as a museum and a place for commissioners' court. The building has been completely restored and is a showplace for Denton County.

Dallas County Courthouse, "Old Red"

We left Denton and headed south to Dallas. The Dallas County courthouse, now a museum affectionately called "Old Red", was the last courthouse on our day trip. It sits in the middle of Dallas and one block from Dealy Square where JFK was shot in 1963. It is built in the Romanesque revival style. I looks like a red brick castle with cone roof turrets, clock tower and even a gargoyle on the roof. I was hoping to get a photo of the courtroom but it was closed to the public. We left Dallas and made the four hour trip back to Houston.