The landscape in Jefferson City looks very different now than it did a century ago.
For example, the Missouri River bridge over which horses pulled buggies was demolished in 1955, homes near that capitol have been replaced by large government buildings, and even the Capitol Building burned down after being struck by lightning in February 1911.
One building that remains, however, is the three-story red brick building that has served as the home of the Supreme Court for nearly 101 years.
While some of our neighboring states have built new justice centers for their highest courts, Missouri’s Supreme Court Building – one of the oldest in the nation – still remains a vibrant part of life in Jefferson City and the broader legal community.
From 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 23, all Missourians are invited to come to Jefferson City for an open house to celebrate the Supreme Court Building’s first 100 years and to look forward to its next 100 years.
The open house will kick off with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 11:30 a.m. in the lobby as a rededication in honor of the historic building.
From ‘riding the circuit’ to a permanent home
For its first 55 years, the three judges of the Supreme Court of Missouri rode on horseback to towns around the state to hear cases. In 1875, after the constitution was changed to require the then-five Supreme Court’s judges to hear oral arguments in Jefferson City, the Court began to hear cases in the basement of the Capitol Building.
Two years later, the first Supreme Court building was constructed southeast of the Capitol Building, roughly where the Department of Transportation headquarters are now. After 1890, when Missouri voters increased the number of judges on the Court to its present size of seven, an annex was built to the side of this building for judges’ chambers and the Supreme Court library.
By the early 1900s, as the caseload grew and the space for judges became tight, the state began looking for a new home for the Supreme Court.
It found it opposite from the Capitol Building on the site where the mansion of Jefferson City’s first mayor Thomas Lawson Price stood.
A few pieces of furniture from that mansion can be found inside the Supreme Court Building.
A contest was held for architects to submit designs for a new Supreme Court building.
The winning architectural team Louis LaBeaume and Guy C. Mariner of St. Louis won $1,000 plus a nearly $10,000 contract to design the courthouse.
The legislature appropriated $185,000 in proceeds from the Louisiana Purchase Exposition better known as the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair, to construct the new building. The board of commissioners that oversaw the new court’s construction included the state’s governor, treasurer, attorney general and two Supreme Court judges.
Ground was broken in 1905, and the building opened for business on October 23, 1907. Construction lasted 10 months longer than scheduled and was about $215,000 over budget.
The total cost of the building was approximately $400,000, but today, it would cost at least $15 to $20 million to reconstruct the building.
The ‘red brick building’
Now surrounded by other government buildings made of concrete, the Supreme Court Building affectionately called the “red brick building” truly stands out.
Standing three stories tall – although the basement level also is above grade in back – the building features French Renaissance architecture, stone pillars at each wing of the front façade and stone trim. It was constructed almost entirely of materials from Missouri.
The distinctive red bricks that make up the exterior are from Audrain County, much of the interior wood is from southwest Missouri, and the prominent staircase in the lobby and the bases of the interior columns are made of marble from Carthage.
The columns themselves because of the budget shortfalls are made of reinforced steel, covered with plaster and painted to look like marble. The only major part of the building that is not from Missouri is the roof made of slate from West Virginia – and it leaked!
The artisans who built the Supreme Court’s new home paid great attention to detail. Carved in stone on the front façade are principles that have guided the Court for nearly 200 years.
One, a Latin phrase roughly translated “To declare the law, not to make the law” reflects the Court’s duty, as a neutral decisionmaker, to uphold the law as well as its respect for the separation of powers among the three branches of state government.
Another, a Latin phrase that means “Where there is a right, there is a remedy” illustrates the Court’s role in providing relief to all, including both the majority and minority interests, to ensure justice.
The third, a quotation from American statesman Daniel Webster: “The law, it has honored us; may we honor it” reflects the Court’s respect for the role of the rule of law in our democracy.
Their craftsmanship is evident throughout the building.
Just inside the front door, a full-color replica of the Great Seal of the State of Missouri is laid in one-inch tiles, and additional tile-work, laid in classical patterns, was done throughout the first and second floors of the building.
Other classical elements are present in the acanthus leaf accents on the columns, the dentil moldings throughout the building and the carvings on the benches in the two courtrooms.
The center of the building features a skylight, letting light shine down through the third and second floors to the landing on the staircase.
A ‘home’ for the judges
When the building was designed, Supreme Court judges came from their hometowns around the state to Jefferson City three months out of the year to hear and decide cases.
At the time, there was only one hotel in town, and it was deemed unseemly for the judges to stay in the same hotel as the lawyers and litigants. For that reason, the judges’ chambers were designed to include small apartment areas off each judge’s office.
We know the judges made themselves at home in their chambers: At one point a number of years ago, when some of the chambers were being remodeled, workers replaced some of the original curved, claw-footed bathtubs and discovered in the corners old liquor bottles – long-since empty – with stamps that date them to the 1930s.
Today, although some of the judges still stay in the building, most chambers have been remodeled to accommodate the judges’ staff of two law clerks and an administrative assistant.
The building also houses the offices of the Supreme Court clerk and the clerk’s staff, two courtrooms, the two-story high Supreme Court Library, and, by statute, the office of the state attorney general.
The two courtrooms are nearly identical in design, and both were used to hear cases until 1985, when the Court began sitting en banc or all seven judges together in the Division I courtroom on the east side of the second floor.
The Division II courtroom on the west side of the second floor now is used primarily for tours, meetings, ceremonies to swear in new attorneys, and other special events.
After the Capitol Building was destroyed in 1911 by a fire sparked by lightning hitting the dome, the Senate used the Division I courtroom as its chambers until a new Capitol Building was constructed.
The library, entered from the second floor, has two-story-high windows along the entire front of the building.
Originally only one floor, the library houses more than 110,000 volumes and is open for use by the public, as well as staff and local attorneys. A second floor made of glass was added along each side of the library after the end of World War II. This floor is chained off now so the hundreds of fourth graders who tour the building every year don’t hurt themselves or damage the glass.
One judge’s chamber is located between the two courtrooms on the second floor, while the rest are on the third floor, which is a secure floor. During the open house, visitors will have an opportunity to go to the third floor and see a judge’s chamber.
They also will be able to see the balcony on the third floor that overlooks the library.
Folklore suggests that in the earlier years of the building, a judge would lean over the edge and yell down to a librarian or law clerk, requesting a book or other research.
Much of the original furnishings are still in use in the building. The tables in the library are original, as are the counsel tables and the curved wooden chairs in the Division I courtroom and some of the judges’ offices.
The fireplaces in the building no longer work, but staff still use the building’s original mail drop, located just outside the entry to the clerk’s office.
The Court also still uses the building’s original walk-in safe, which now contains rare historic books and certain historic Court documents.
‘We are but temporary occupants’
In speaking about the Supreme Court Building, many of the Court’s judges say, “We are but temporary occupants.”
They recognize that while judges and court staff may come and go through the years, the building itself has stood as a symbol of justice for all Missourians throughout its history.
And so in that sense it belongs to the people of the state, not to the individuals who work inside.
The Supreme Court Building is open year-round for visitors.
The library is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, excluding public holidays. In addition, free guided tours are available on the half-hour from 9 a.m. to noon and from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, excluding public holidays and times when the Court is hearing oral arguments.
Reservations are recommended and can be made by contacting the Supreme Court of Missouri at (573) 751-4144.
