| |
1979
Collin County Courthouse in McKinney
Photo courtesy
Terry Jeanson, June 2007 |
The
Present Collin County Courthouse - McKinney, Texas
Date - 1979
Architect - Jarvis Putty Jarvis, Inc. & Harvey G. Moore, Associate Material -
Steel, brick and concrete.
Style - modern
The present Collin County
courthouse sits a couple of blocks south of the old
courthouse. |
The Former
Collin County Courthouse - McKinney, Texas Date
- 1874
Architect
- Charles Wheelock
Style - Second empire
Material - Brick and stone
Remodeled 1927
W. A. Peters (Sparger and Peters)
Style - Neoclassical
Revival Style
"The 1874 Collin County courthouse on the square was
restored to its 1927 condition in 2006. It now serves as the McKinney
Performing Arts Center." - Terry
Jeanson |
The
1874/1927 Collin County Courthouse Cornerstone
Photo courtesy Terry Jeanson,
June 2007 |
| The
1874 Collin County Courthouse after the 1927 remodeling to Neoclassical Revival
Style. Photo courtesy texasoldphotos.com |
Another
view of the remodeled Collin County Courthouse in McKinney
Postcard courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/ |
The
Old Collin County Courthouse as it appeared in 1939
Photo courtesy TxDoT |
The
1874 Collin County Courthouse as it appeared in 1908
Postcard courtesy www.rootsweb.com/
%7Etxpstcrd/ |
Another
view of the 1874 Second Empire Style Collin County Courthouse
Postcard circa
1908, courtesy THC |
| Photographer's
Note: The signs below were uncovered when the original paint was restored
in the basement of the Old Collin County courthouse. The text on the plaque beneath
both signs is the same. - Terry
Jeanson, June 2007 |
| Photo
courtesy Terry Jeanson, June 2007 |
| Photo
courtesy Terry Jeanson, June 2007 |
Close
up view of the plaque below the signs.
Photo courtesy Terry Jeanson, June
2007 |
Stroll
down the east side of the square. Stop. View for a few minutes the towers of the
courthouse and you will wonder why they are allowed to remain in their present
unsightly condition. The panes in the windows are broken out; the shutters are
torn off and lie in the debris in the attic, the rain blows in at the openings.
Bats in the belfry? No one can say, but it is known that hundreds of
English sparrows and pigeons find a roosting place in the towers. If Collin County
is not able to build a new Temple of Justice … then we can at least put in some
window-panes and patch up the holes.
On top of all that, the roof leaks,
the floors are warped, and county records are getting soaked. |
| You
would think you were reading a recent report but this came from the May 5, 1921
edition of the Weekly Democrat-Gazette. The same could have been said of
conditions prior to the start of restoration and rehabilitation of the Old Collin
County Courthouse.... next
page |
Collin
County Forum:Collin
County Courthouse Wedding
My husband, Steve and I were married in the old [Collin County] courthouse in
1973. We eloped on the last day before our blood tests would have to be redone
-- really! We've made it 33 years in January... there was snow on the ground back
then and we spent our honeymoon iced in on Parker Road in a neat A-frame redwood
house that we rented on the creek across from what is now Collin County Community
College Spring Creek Campus... Plano had about 30,000 people then -- I think they
were all on the east side of Central Exprwy. We bought our rings at Weatherford
Jewelers in downtown Plano and our first Christmas tree at the Wall-Robbins house
on Ave. K.
In 1987, I bought a picture of the old courthouse, but it
didn't look anything like when we were married... I learned from your website
photos that it was changed over the years and the painting that I have (a limited
editon by John Pototschnik) is at the turn of the century -- with snow and all
-- even more of a treasure!
I now serve on the Plano Heritage Commission
and will work my first Blackland Prairie Festival this year, dressing in the 1890's
costume. One daughter lives in the Schimelpfenig House on 17th, a beautifully
restored Victorian and my other daughter and grandchildren live in Frisco,
where my daughter teaches at CCCC; my son will be returning to Plano this summer
after graduation from Texas Tech, so we are in Collin County for good! The children
gave us a surprise 25th anniversary party and about 80 old friends, new friends
and family came to wish us well. These are some of the most remarkable times of
our married lives since we got married without any gala. I hope to be invited
to the grand-reopening of the old courthouse... it won't be the same without the
Justice of the Peace performing the rites amidst the ringing phone and papers
all over the desk!
Thanks for your work and allowing me to share some
good times and history with you! - Janice Craze Cline, Plano, TX, March 17,
2006 | |
|
