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Stark County Courthouse

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1936, William F. Kurke. 51 3rd St. E
  • (Photograph by Steve C. Martens)

With extensive bas-relief stone spandrels and wrought-iron ornament, the Stark County Courthouse exemplifies Fargo architect Kurke’s mature Art Deco design. The building was designed at about the same time Kurke collaborated with Holabird and Root and Joseph Bell DeRemer on the North Dakota State Capitol (BL1.1). The courthouse is built of limestone and light-colored local brick, with a limestone base on a raised podium. The stylized Art Deco geometry is emphasized in the six fluted limestone pilasters that mark the entrance, and which wrap up and over the parapet in a streamlined fashion. The bas-relief spandrel panels portray local trades at labor, and large custom-fabricated wrought-metal lanterns ornament the exterior entrance stair. Courtrooms are in the center of the building and are flanked by administrative offices. Interior surface finishes are embellished lavishly in stone and bright metalwork.

Writing Credits

Author: 
Steve C. Martens and Ronald H. L. M. Ramsay
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Data

What's Nearby

The Brew (St. John’s Episcopal Church)
Dickinson Area Public Library (Carnegie Library)
American Bancor (Liberty National Bank, German-Bohemian Bank)
Grand Order Masonic Temple
BPOE Elks Lodge, No. 1137

Citation

Steve C. Martens and Ronald H. L. M. Ramsay, "Stark County Courthouse", [Dickinson, North Dakota], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/ND-01-SK4.

Print Source

Cover: Buildings of North Dakota

Buildings of North Dakota, Steve C. Martens and Ronald H. L. M. Ramsay. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2015, 169-169.

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