Tippecanoe County Courthouse

Infobox_nrhp | name =Tippecanoe County Courthouse
nrhp_type =
location= Lafayette, Indiana
lat_degrees = 40 | lat_minutes = 25 | lat_seconds = 7.2 | lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 86 | long_minutes = 53 | long_seconds = 37.2 | long_direction = W
area =
architect= Elias Max and James F. Alexander
architecture= Beaux Arts, Classical Revival, Other
added = 1972
governing_body = Local Gov't
refnum=72000013 cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=1972|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service]

The Tippecanoe County Courthouse is located on the public square in the city of Lafayette in Tippecanoe County, Indiana. The public square is located on 4th Street between Main and Columbia Streets.

History

When Samuel Clemens visited Lafayette, Indiana he was asked his opinion about the Tippecanoe County Courthouse. Clemens comment was that this courthouse "must have struck the taxpayers a mighty blow". The comment was accurate as this was the most expensive courthouse built in the state until the Allen County Courthouse (Fort Wayne, Indiana) was built some twenty years later. The court house has one hundred columns, nine statues, an elongated dome with four clock faces and a 3,000 pound bell tuned to C-sharp. A 14-foot statue depicting liberty tops the courthouse dome. The court house dome tops out at 226 feet.

Construction cost $500,000 and took place over four years beginning in 1881. The courthouse is built of Indiana limestone and is two-and-a-half stories tall on a raised basement. Architecturally, it is a pastiche of styles including Second Empire, Beaux Arts, Baroque, Rococco, Georgian and Neo-Classical. Paul Goeldner in his study of Midwestern courthouses called the building the "epitome of county capitals".

Attempted Bombing

On August 2, 1998, perpetrator(s) crashed a pickup truck full of gasoline and explosives through the eastern entrance of the Tippecanoe County Courthouse. Local firefighters were able to put out the blazing truck--fortunately before any of the flammable materials in the truck were able to catch fire. On August 11, local county authorities placed concrete barriers around the courthouse to help prevent a similar attack in the future. ["A Day in the Life of Tippecanoe County" http://tcha.ecn.purdue.edu:8080/?q=1998 Accessed 05-04-08.]

A white male in his mid-40s was wanted for questioning because he was spotted near the scene around the time the truck crashed into the courthouse. Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives found evidence at the scene and sent it for processing but no arrest was ever made for the attempted bombing of the county courthouse. ["Counter-Terrorism for First Responders" by Robert Burke, page 187, 510 pages, copyright 2006, ISBN: 0849399238 ]

References

* The Magnificent 92 Indiana Courthouses by Will Counts and Jon Dilts, copyright 1991, pages 164,165.
* Historic American Buildings Survey in Indiana edited by Thomas M Slade, copyright 1983, page 122 ISBN 0-253-32741-5
* Architecture in American, GE Kidder Smith, copyright 1981, page 463 ISBN0-517-36237-6.

External links

* Information on Courthouse - http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=tippecanoecountycourthouse-lafayette-in-usa