| Marquette County Courthouse | |
| Location: | 400 South 3rd Street, Marquette, Michigan |
| Coordinates: | 46.5417°N -87.3964°W |
| Mapframe: | yes |
| Mapframe-Marker: | building |
| Mapframe-Zoom: | 12 |
| Mapframe-Caption: | Interactive map showing the location for Marquette County Courthouse |
| Built: | 1904 |
| Architect: | Charlton, Gilbert & Kuenzli |
| Builder: | Northern Construction Co. |
| Architecture: | Classical Revival |
| Added: | March 29, 1978 |
| Area: | less than |
| Refnum: | 78001506 |
| Designated Other1: | Michigan State Historic Site |
| Designated Other1 Date: | August 6, 1976 |
| Designated Other1 Num Position: | bottom |
The Marquette County Courthouse is a government building located at 400 South 3rd Street in Marquette, Michigan. It designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1976 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. The courthouse was the setting of the 1959 film Anatomy of a Murder, directed by Otto Preminger.
In 1857, the first Marquette County courthouse, a wooden Greek Revival structure, was built on this site. By the turn of the century, that structure had become inadequate. In 1902, voters approved the issuance of $120,000 worth of bonds to construct a new courthouse. The earlier structure was moved off the site, and the county hired Marquette architect D. Fred Charlton (Charlton, Gilbert & Demar/Charlton & Kuenzli) to design the new building. Northern Construction Company of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was hired to construct the building. The county eventually spent $240,000 to complete the structure; it was completed in 1904.
The courthouse was the site of a famous 1913 libel case, where President Theodore Roosevelt won a judgment against Ishpeming newspaper publisher George Newett.[1] Roosevelt was awarded six cents, "the price of a good newspaper." Another later case tried here inspired John D. Voelker's novel, Anatomy of a Murder. The 1959 movie version of the novel, directed by Otto Preminger, was filmed in the courthouse.[1]
In 1982–84, the courthouse was renovated at a cost of $2.4 million.[1] A new courthouse and jail was built nearby, connected by a tunnel, but the 1904 building remains in use.[1]
The Marquette County Courthouse is a Beaux-Arts and Neoclassical structure, with a central three-story mass flanked by two-story wings. It is built almost entirely of local sandstone over a steel frame.[1] A colossal portico covers the entrance, lined with 23feet granite Doric columns from Maine. A Doric entablature with copper cornice rings the roofline. A copper dome surmounts the building, and sits above the second-floor courtroom.
Inside, the courtroom is finished with mahogany and marble. Mosaic tiles, wool carpeting, and stained glass fill the building.