The Fairfield County Courthouse, also known as the Court of Common Pleas, in Bridgeport, Connecticut

Bridgeport, Connecticut

Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Located in Fairfield County, the city had an estimated population of 144,229 at the 2010 United States Census and is the core of the Greater Bridgeport area...

 is a Richardsonian Romanesque

Richardsonian Romanesque

Richardsonian Romanesque is a style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after architect Henry Hobson Richardson, whose masterpiece is Trinity Church, Boston , designated a National Historic Landmark...

 brick building built in 1888. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

 in 1982.

History

In 1886, when Bridgeport City Hall

Bridgeport City Hall

The old Bridgeport City Hall is located in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The building was built in 1854 as both the City Hall and the Fairfield County Courthouse and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 19, 1977...

 proved insufficient for both the growing needs of Bridgeport and Fairfield County

Fairfield County, Connecticut

Fairfield County is a county located in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The county population is 916,829 according to the 2010 Census. There are currently 1,465 people per square mile in the county. It is the most populous county in the State of Connecticut and contains...

, the county decided to build a new courthouse. Norwalk

Norwalk, Connecticut

Norwalk is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of the city is 85,603, making Norwalk sixth in population in Connecticut, and third in Fairfield County...

 bid for the new courthouse to be moved there, offering $100,000 towards construction, but the Bridgeport group, including P.T. Barnum, offered $150,000. The cornerstone was laid on June 24, 1887 near the corner of Golden Hill and Main Streets and the Richardsonian Romanesque

Richardsonian Romanesque

Richardsonian Romanesque is a style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after architect Henry Hobson Richardson, whose masterpiece is Trinity Church, Boston , designated a National Historic Landmark...

 building, designed by Warren R. Briggs

Warren R. Briggs

Warren R. Briggs was an American architect who worked in Bridgeport, Connecticut. He was a "native of Boston" and trained at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris. His work was greatly influenced by H. H...

, was completed and opened in 1888. It still functions as a courthouse where all but the most serious criminal cases are heard.

See also

• History of Bridgeport, Connecticut
  History of Bridgeport, Connecticut
  The history of Bridgeport, Connecticut was, in the late 17th and most of the 18th century, one of land acquisitions from the native inhabitants, farming and fishing. From the mid-18th century to the mid-19th century, Bridgeport's history was one of shipbuilding, whaling and rapid growth...
  
  
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Bridgeport, Connecticut
  National Register of Historic Places listings in Bridgeport, Connecticut
  This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Bridgeport, Connecticut.This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Bridgeport, Connecticut, United States...