Lucas County Courthouse, Toledo

The Lucas County Courthouse is an architecturally significant building that has been a landmark since its opening in 1897. This courthouse, designed by Toledo architect David Stine, is celebrated for its striking Beaux-Arts style. This style, named after the prestigious École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where many American architects, including Stine, trained, combines elements from Greek, Roman, Italian, and French Baroque architecture. The courthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, cementing its importance as a historical and architectural treasure.

The courthouse's grand design features Roman arches, Corinthian columns, and a low Roman dome, all of which exemplify the Beaux-Arts style. It occupies an entire city block and is prominently situated on the lush green lawn of Courthouse Square, making it a central and imposing feature of downtown Toledo. This building replaced an earlier Greek Revival courthouse that had stood at the corner of Adams and Erie streets since the 1850s. Stine's design for the Lucas County Courthouse was influenced by his previous work on the Libbey Glass Company Pavilion, showcased at the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago.

While the exterior of the courthouse is richly adorned with classical architectural elements, the interior, though more restrained, still features notable decorative touches. Visitors can find marble wainscoting, intricate ironwork, stained glass, and impressive tile mosaics throughout the building. One unique feature is the tile frog embedded in the floor at the Adams Street entrance, a whimsical nod to Toledo's early nickname, "Frogtown." This nickname arose due to the numerous swampy areas in and around the city, including the courthouse's site, which was once part of a low and wet lagoon known as Mud Creek.