herr2ck: A God Amongst Men

July 2025.

The massive Richardsonian Romanesque Old DuPage County Courthouse looms over the shoddy apartment buildings that stand nearby it today. Indeed, its present site is extremely unusual, and the courthouse is used as housing today. Much grander than the courthouses of the neighboring counties, it has a great depth of detailing.

The Old DuPage County Courthouse is located southeast of downtown Wheaton, Illinois. It is surrounded by the Courthouse Square Apartments and bordered by Naperville Road to the east and Reber Street to the west.

History

Naperville was the county seat of DuPage County between 1839 and 1867, and Wheaton was designated the seat afterwards. I wasn’t able to find any images of Naperville’s courthouse or Wheaton’s first one (this is the second).

Historic view of the courthouse’s original appearance. (Courthouse History)

The Old DuPage County Courthouse was completed in 1896. It was designed in the Richardsonian Romanesque style by Chicago architect Mifflin E. Bell, who was best known for briefly serving as the Supervising Architect of the Treasury between 1883 and 1886.

Some notable events in the courthouse’s history include the murder trial of George Munding in 1924, who was defended by famous lawyer Clarence Darrow, and the first person in Illinois sentenced to death in the electric chair, which occurred in 1931.

A view of the additions to the courthouse in 1977. (NRHP listing)

A few additions were made to the courthouse during the mid-20th century, which were poorly designed and Modern in style, and they have since been demolished. The first was a large extension from the east side which was completed in 1952. A jail was added in 1957, which extended southward from the first addition. Finally, a floor was added to the first addition in 1961.

The principal facade in 1977. (NRHP listing)

At the time of the Old DuPage County Courthouse’s listing on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, the building was largely intact on the exterior, aside from modern vinyl windows and a guyed radio tower on top of the tower. The windows have either been repainted or replaced with a more historically accurate color scheme, and the radio tower has also been removed.

The Old DuPage County Courthouse served as the county courthouse until 1990, when a larger Postmodern courthouse was completed, though it was threatened with demolition previously.

The building’s Wikipedia article states that the tower was struck by lightning in 1988, destroyed, and subsequently rebuilt, as well as the courthouse’s purchase by National Louis University in 1993. Both of these statements are unsourced, and the tower appears to be original to me.

The Old DuPage County Courthouse was converted to luxury apartments in the late 2010s. Its site has been surrounded with apartment buildings and townhomes which lack a cohesive style or a response to the courthouse, which also takes away from its original monumental nature.

Photos

I wish it was sunnier when I visited so the details would be better visible, but oh well. Here is the beautiful west facade:

This is a more symmetrical interpretation of Richardsonian Romanesque architecture, but flat wall planes are subverted by various towers, dormers, and vaults. Most prominent is the tall, detailed tower rising above the roofline. The facade is largely dark brick with ashlar lintels and courses, and the roof is clay tile.

A closer, oblique look without the trees in the way:

The entrance is vaulted with a large arch, very common for the style, and the detailed towers rise above it:

The wings are simpler in their design, largely square aside from the various courses, lintels, and the vaulted windows on the first floor:

I really cooked with the detail shots here. Here’s a nice close look at the vaulted windows and the subtly detailed carvings in the area:

On the second floor, the course terminates on the lintel with a little cluster of leaves:

Finally, the third floor has some nice corbels that support the cornice and roof:

A richly detailed dormer:

Arches are the best.

The portal is interestingly clad in buff ashlar, which contrasts with the darker masonry across the exterior. The roof is supported by two large Romanesque columns:

The wood framing and light fixture appear to be original.

Richardsonian Romanesque architecture was usually pretty spare in its ornamentation, at least for the time. More elaborate Victorian styles such as Queen Anne and Gothic Revival tended to have a lot more ornament slathered onto them. Most of its effects are achieved via form alone. Aside from the carved springers below the arch, the only applied decoration is these terra-cotta foliate panels:

The top of the dormer above probably has the most detail with its Ionic columns and richly carved datestone:

Probably one of the best and most unique ornamental details of a Richardsonian building I’ve seen so far.

Not the best framed picture of the tower in its entirety, but it’s the only one I have straight-on:

An angled view from closer up:

It’s definitely very solid in appearance, which is emphasized by the squat arches and columns, thick corner turrets, and the large expanse devoted to the clock:

This shot of the crown shows the different Ionic columns, corbelled roof, and the copper pinnacles:

Even closer look at the vaulting:

I like the touch of polychromy that the copper portions add.

I couldn’t get a shot of the north or south facade in its entirety due to its proximity to the nearby apartments, but I did get some of their entrance portals: