Storey County Courthouse
After being rebuilt from ‘The Great Fire’ in 1875, the Storey County Courthouse is the state’s oldest continuously operating courthouse. Above the entrance is a small balcony with a life-sized figure of Justice. The statue was made in New York and arrived in 1877 and is not blindfolded, one of the few like it in the nation. The statue has been the source of much controversy. In the interior, the County District Court courtroom is located on the second story. The building contains the old jail which is now a museum.
The building faces east and is a two-story red colored brick and wood structure. The east front is ornate with double arched windows and a central arched entrance on the first story. A projecting cornice runs along the flat roof line with a central parapet with the date 1876. The rest of the building is red-colored brick.
Nationally popularized in the 19th century and in Virginia City after The Great Fire, Italianate architecture, draws inspiration from 16th-century Italian Renaissance villas and farmhouses. The style often features a symmetrical facade, decorative eaves, and tall, narrow windows. Baroque presence is noted in the decorative details and sense of grandeur.
