The Heart of Bexar County

With that picture of the original courtroom
we were able to determine the major features of
the space. We also found the serial numbers
from the original chandeliers and traced them to
a St. Louis company that was still in business.
They said they could replicate them.
As construction work began on the courtroom,
we ran across a unique opportunity. Guido
Brothers Construction Company was doing work
on the 1888 downtown Joske’s building when
they discovered longleaf pine joists that had been
harvested around the 1880s. They had a rich,
deep, red pine color that was described as an
historic treasure of “organic gold”.
Since the wood floors in the courtroom were
installed at about the same time as Joske’s we paid
$130,000 for 5,000 square feet of the rare wood
and milled them into flooring for the courtroom.
Because we had agreed to allow the judges to
use the Double-height courtroom for infrequent
larger trials we built a transforming bench from
one that set the five-member commissioners
configuration to a judicial bench that required
boxes for witnesses and court clerk.
We held our grand opening on January 6,
2015. The courtroom was stunning as people
walked around looking at the original features
that were finally revealed and restored. They were
q
Above: Restored entrance to the
Presiding Courtroom.
Below: Restored Presiding Court
Interior.
We were unable to find James Reily Gordon’s
original architectural drawings, so we employed
historian Maria Pfeiffer to interview people
who had been in the courtroom before it was
torn asunder. She also found a picture of the
original courtroom.
4 8 F T H E H E A R T O F B E X A R C O U N T Y