The 1878 courthouse in Crown Point has been the site of many remarkable events: Rudolph Valentino, Muhammad Ali, and Ronald Reagan were all married there1. Louis Chevrolet was honored with a medal on its steps2. Even the infamous John Dillinger staged his daring escape from the Lake County jail with the courthouse as the backdrop3! The modern Lake County Government Center may lack its predecessor’s pedigree, but it’s still an impressive structure thanks to its sheer scale and presence.
Nestled next to Chicago, Lake County is Indiana’s second-largest and most densely populated county. “The Region” encompasses seven distinct cities, twelve incorporated towns, and three-designated places! Officials envisioned replacing its cherished “Grand Old Lady4” in downtown Crown Point as the county grew over the years, but concerned residents disagreed. They blocked the move in a lawsuit.
The situation was complicated: the site of the proposed courthouse sat outside Crown Point’s boundaries. An early ruling upheld a state law that gave Lake County the right to locate its courthouse wherever officials wanted, but property owners contended that granting one county such special treatment was unjust. After locals filed their first suit in 1967, a second legal challenge delayed progress to the tune of $2 million5.
That was unacceptable, of course, so officials settled on an easy solution. In 1971, the city simply annexed 1,500 acres of land where they wanted to put the courthouse6! The following year, commissioners oversaw the completion of a new auxiliary courthouse in Hammond. Happy with the outcome, they retained its architects to develop plans for a sprawling complex with space for the courts, administrative offices, and a jail.
Bernard and Associates’ Lake County Government Center opened in 19747. The building is actually three enormous structures that nearly took my breath away as I rounded the drive into its expansive campus. With its bold steel frame, sleek glass, and stark concrete, the imposing building might be the most impressive courthouse in Indiana, at least as far as its sheer scale and striking modern design are concerned.
From east to west, the first building in the complex is Lake County’s three-story administration building, which houses county offices, a cafeteria, a data processing center, and storage for voting machines. The central two-story segment serves as the courthouse itself. The five-story west wing accommodates the jail and sheriff’s office.
Each branch of the building is linked by ground-level hallways and exposed staircases that cross open plazas. The greenspace next to the sheriff’s office features an eternal flame as the centerpiece of Lake County’s Law Enforcement Memorial.
I bypassed Lake County’s modern courthouses on my first trip to every county. At first, I was uninterested in contemporary justice centers or sprawling government complexes. Over time, though, my perspective shifted. I was grappling with the bittersweet realization that my three-year courthouse project was coming to a close, and I wanted to extend it however I could.
I also realized that courthouses from the 1970s, like Lake County’s, were inching closer to fifty years old. That makes them eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, which makes them fair game to take pictures of- at least as far as my arbitrary standards were concerned.
Will it be listed? I doubt it. The Lake County Government Center may not have the classical beauty or storied past of its predecessor downtown, but I thought it was awe-inspiring in its own right. Its sheer scale and bold design reflect the ambitions and innovations of a different era and added a fresh chapter to my courthouse project. In the end, visiting the Lake County Government Center helped further enrich my understanding of Indiana’s architectural evolution, and I’m glad I did!
TL;DR
Lake County (pop.491,456, 2/92)
Crown Point (pop. 28,412)
Built: 1974
Cost: $28 million ($136 million in 2016)
Architect: L Cosby Bernard & Associates
Style: Modern
Courthouse Square: No square
Height: 2 stories
Current Use: Most county offices and courts
Photographed: 5/26/20.
Sources Cited
1 “Our History” Lake Court House Foundation, Inc. [Crown Point]. Web. Retrieved 5/23/20.
2 National Register of Historic Places, Crown Point Courthouse Square Historic District, Crown Point, Lake County, Indiana, National Register #04000203.
3 “John Dillenger’s escape from a Crown Point jail cell made headlines 86 years ago this week” The Chicago Sun Times [Chicago]. March 4, 2020. Web. Retrieved 5/23/20.
4 “Historic Lake County Courthouse in Crown Point” Visit the South Shore Along Lake Michigan [Hammond]. Web. Retrieved 5/23/20.
5 “New Hearing Planned on Courthouse” The Times [Munster]. January. 8, 1969. Page 3. Print.
6 “Lake County To Get New Courthouse’ The Rushville Republican [Rushville]. July 8 1971. Page 8. Print.
7 “New Courthouse” The Times [Munster]. April 21 1974. Page 22. Print.
it’s almost a Brutalist design.
I agree!