Friday, June 4, 2004

Courthouse celebration nears By JOHN THOMPSON jthompson@TheCitizenNews.com While hundreds wander the Coweta County Courthouse grounds tomorrow and marvel at the historic structure, many will wonder about the history of the famous building. Coweta County public information officer Tom Corker, who helped coordinated the centennial celebration for the building, provided some background on the structure this week. Corker said the The Coweta County Courthouse was designed by architect J.W. Golucke and is an example of Neoclassical Revival architecture. “Traditionally, cornices and pediments are of stone. But in this case, stamped and formed copper metal was used,” he said. Corker said one of the most interesting features is the dome, reminiscent of the famed Gibbs’ Radcliff Library in Oxford, England. The dome features clocks on all four sides. Corker said the clocks were originally hand wound, the clocks were switched to electricity in the 1960s. The dome is covered with copper to match the cornice, pediments and railings. Another interesting aspect of the courthouse, Corker said is the rare horseshoe-shaped table in the Grand Jury room. The Coweta County Courthouse was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. The festivities begin at 11 a.m. with speeches and patriotic music.

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