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| 8/1/2007 11:49:00 AM | Email this article • Print this article | Wilco courthouse built to last
BRAD STUTZMAN
Editor
The Williamson County Courthouse is rock-solid and built to last. It is almost 100 years old and - as an $8.9 million restoration project draws to a close - it might still be standing 100 years from now.
County government leaders and Ed Lee from Broaddus and Associates - a consultant group representing the county for the restoration project - led visitors on a tour of the historical building Tuesday afternoon.
"We're punching out the final work," Lee said, amid the hard-hat construction workers who carried fixtures and wielded paint rollers. "We think by Thursday or Friday we should have our certificate of occupancy."
Lee and Pct. 1 Commissioner Lisa Birkman said the project is coming in on-budget. Funding comes from county taxpayer dollars - in the form of certificates of obligation - plus a $3.75 million grant the county received, in 2004, from the Texas Historic Courthouse Preservation Program.
The building, which anchors Georgetown's downtown square, is three-stories tall (not including the basement) and is actually the county's fifth courthouse, Williamson County Historical Museum director Chris Dyer said.
Williamson County was founded in 1848 and the first courthouse was built in the 1850s.
The present structure - built in 1910 and opened in 1911 - is actually the county's third courthouse on the site, Dyer explained.
The structure is physically imposing, with Lee stating the exterior walls are anywhere from 14 to 28 inches thick.
"The things you see with the older structures is they are built to last longer," Birkman said.
"This structure is built very good, for a building of the early 1900s," Lee said. "They gave (old public buildings) extra concrete, extra steel for the measure of safety."
Dyer agreed.
"It should be permanent," he said of the courthouse. "It's not going anywhere."
The courthouse has undergone some smaller makeovers, over the years, most notably in the 1950s and '60s. Changes - which sometimes emphasized function, at the exclusion of form - often disappointed local historians.
The current restoration aims for historical accuracy, including the installation of new pediments and balustrades along the top of the building.
"All the public areas have new terrazzo floors," Lee said of the flooring, which has small chips of marble set in cement.
He noted laying the new terrazzo flooring was less expensive than repairing the cracked and chipped terrazzo floors that had been in the courthouse.
Several observer commented that public buildings just aren't built like this anymore.
Lee estimated it would cost about $30 million today to build a courthouse of this style and substance from the ground up.
Ground was broken in January 2006 for the top-to-bottom overhaul and the work has been slow-go at times. The job was originally supposed to have been completed in 16 months. Weather and change orders caused delays, but on Tuesday County Judge Dan Gattis said he is pleased with the quality of the work.
"Everything is close to completion, but there are a lot of little details," Lee said.
One of the project's key elements is the restoration of the old 26th District courtroom, with balcony seating.
"Somebody discovered the original balcony railing in a barn and incorporated the original railing with the new railing," Lee said. "The new railing brings it up to current (building) code. The original railing was too low for current code."
On Friday evening, the general public can take a sneak peek tour, as part of a fund-raising event.
"We have room for 200 people and we do have some tickets left," county spokeswoman Connie Watson said (see related story, page 7A).
County officials will then soon begin moving back into the courthouse, which will be home for the office of county judge, treasurer and auditor, plus meetings of the commissioners court.
The building's official rededication is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 8 at 11 a.m., with related activities scheduled until 3 p.m.
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