Austin Tourism: Travis County Courthouse

Video Transcript

"Once the seat of justice in Austin, the Travis County Courthouse is now the home of many county offices and the only scene for civil trials. The building, erected in 1930, was designed by Page Brothers, a local architecture firm that also designed several courthouses around Texas. It was very modern for its time, back in the 1930s, and now it's one of the few examples of Art Deco here in Austin. The bars on the window are fairly ornate and are very similar to the X and stick pattern found on the porches at the Governor's mansion. There are several carvings on the building, including these two griffins, and this detailed scene over the main entrance. This scene depicts a judge releasing shackled prisoners and resulting joy of the crowd. The Art Deco designs under the windows and geometric shapes on the stone blocks are classic for the 1930s era construction. The courthouse was built with limestone bricks, just like many buildings in Austin. And you can see evidence of shells and fossil remains in the stone. It's believed that this area was once the location of a shallow sea. The Travis County Jail used to be located on the upper floor of the courthouse, but it was moved to a new high-rise building next door in the late 1990s. Inside the Travis County Courthouse, you'll notice the rather ornate details in many places. The courthouse was rededicated in 2005 for Herman Marion Sweatt, the first black student admitted to the University of Texas School of Law. This courthouse was the site of his historic trial over race and school admissions."