Just thought I would showcase this beautiful St. Louis building:  The Old Courthouse.  It is now a part of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial and operated by the National Park Service for historical exhibits and events.  

A couple of notable cases that occurred here:

1. The Dred Scott case in 1846.  The slave Dred Scott sued for he and his wife's freedom because they had been held as slaves in free states.  The trials were all held in the Old Courthouse.  In 1857 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the Scotts, saying they did not have grounds as citizens to sue.

2.  The Virginia Minor case in 1872.  Virginia Minor attempted to vote in a St. Louis election and was arrested.  The trials were all held in this building and in 1875 the male-only voting rules were upheld as the Constitution did not address voting rules, which were set by the states.

My how things have changed since those early days!  In spite of magnificent buildings and "good" attempts, humanity is and always has been full of imperfections - still making mistakes, still in need of a Savior! Thankfully we have just THAT!  What would we do without ONE to make our wrongs right?  Thanks God, for the gift of Jesus, who did indeed pay for our "right-eouness" and for the creative joys - even in architecture - that you have blessed us with!

Beautiful building.  Beautiful architecture!  A Federal style courthouse was built in 1828.  It was designed by the firm of Lavielle and Morton, which also designed the early Jefferson Barracks buildings as well as the Old Cathedral.  Our city's street names and number grid was also devised by Joseph Laveille.

In 1839 ground was broken for a new courthouse designed by Henry Singleton.  It was Greek revival in style and had four wings, including an east wing that included the original courthouse and a three-sotry cupola dome at the center.

In 1851 Robert S. Mitchell began a redesign in which the original courthouse portion on the east wing was torn down and replaced by a new east wing.  The west wing was remodeled from 1855-1858.  

In 1861 William Rumbold replaced a cupola with an Italian Renaissance cast iron Dome (and copper exterior) modeled after St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City.  (The U.S. Capitol dome was also modeled after the Basilica and built at the same time during the American Civil War.  The dome was completed in 1864 after commissioning Karl Ferdinand Wimar to paint murals in the rotunda.  These paintings were painted over in 1880, but restored in 1888 and are beautifully visible today.  They represent four events in St. Louis History.Rumbold also designed the Missouri State Hospital (also known as the St. Louis County Insane Asylum or City Sanitarium) at 5400 Arsenal.  It also has a dome which can be seen from many places in the area as it is the highest point in St. Louis.  

The courthouse building was the tallest building in Missouri and St. Louis until 1896 when Union Station and later in 1965 the Gateway Arch was built.