The first Crow Wing County Courthouse was built on Fourth Street, just north of the railroad tracks, in 1872 at a cost of $30,000. Financed by the sale of bonds, the building was an eleborate Romanesque style courthouse.
Dating from 1920, the current Crow Wing County Courthouse is a classic Beaux Arts building, typical of the first quarter of the 20th century. It is built of smooth-cut gray stone and stands 130 by 90 feet. Above a high rough-cut stone basement or first floor, piers and columns reach two stories to the cornice. A medallion and flag pole anchor the center of its classically symmetrical features. The double glass doors with transom and sidelights are highlighted by an arch and cast-iron lamp posts.
The interior has polished marble floors and walls, and a balconied rotunda. A colored glass skylight dominates the dome, from which a fine brass electrolier with white glass fittings hangs above wide stairways.
The building, which was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980, was designed by Alden and Harris of St. Paul. J. and W.A. Elliott Company won the general contract on July 5, 1919 for $279,398.
The picture above was taken in 1930.
Historical information adapted from "The First 100 Years... The Minnesota State Bar Association."
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