Palm Beach County Courthouse Restoration Project
The inspiration for Courting Danger

Built in 1916, the neoclassical Palm Beach County courthouse quickly became too small for the booming county. 1927 saw the addition of an annex mirroring the original building with connecting hallways on each floor. The courthouse served as a hurricane shelter in 1928 and was one of the few structures in downtown West Palm Beach to survive. During the 1950’s construction converted any open spaces between the two buildings into rooms. However, by the late 1960’s, overcrowding led to a wrap-around addition completed in 1972 that encased the entire 1916 structure.

With the completion of the current courthouse complex, the former one was abandoned with the ball of demolition hanging over it. Finally, in 2003 the Palm Beach County commission gave the green light for a restoration plan: tear down the wrap-around and the additions, leaving the original 1916 building to house the county’s first historical museum. Slated to be finished in 2006, the restoration progress can be viewed by web cam at http://www.historicalsocietypbc.org/1916_courthouse.asp