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Middlesex County Superior Courthouse
Middlesex County Superior Court
1850; 1897
Lowell Courthouse c.1892 Middlesex County Superior Court
Building History
Lowell was designated the northern seat of Middlesex County in 1835, an event that had a great influence on the city’s growth by attracting many lawyers and businessmen to Lowell. Originally located in the Central Market House (1837) on Market Street, the County Court moved to this Gorham Street location in 1850.
The Middlesex County Superior Courthouse consists of two large attached buildings. The original courthouse (1850), designed by Amni Young, was built in the Romanesque Revival style and sits to the rear of the site. The brick structure is offset by decorative wood trim found in window hoods and an arcaded cornice while the roof is crowned with an octagonal clock tower topped by symbolic scales of justice.
Young, whose previous work included the Customs House in Boston, had been a pupil of Alexander Parris, architect of Boston’s Quincy Market. After completing the Lowell courthouse, Young was appointed Superintending Architect of the United States Treasury Department. Young designed over 50 public buildings throughout the country during his decade in Washington.
In 1895 to accommodate the need for increased space, the courthouse’s front portico and projecting façade gable were removed, the building moved to the rear of its lot, and in 1897, an addition built along Gorham Street. Designed by Olin Cutler, the addition is approximately twice the size of the original building. A two-story pedimented portico dominates the façade while additional Classical architectural elements are heavily employed on the rest of the façade including pedimented windows, fluted Ionic columns, statuary, and balustrades. The building’s name and date are inscribed in an Old English typeface and Roman numerals.
Preservation and Reuse
The buildings have been in continuous judicial use since their construction. They presently house both court operations and the Middlesex North Registry of Deeds. In 2000, the buildings received a Massachusetts Historical Commission Honorable Mention Award for preservation work that had been undertaken including restoration of windows, masonry, roof, and the original 1850 cupola.