{{Use American English|date=August 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}} {{Infobox NRHP | name = Dallas County Courthouse | nrhp_type = nhldcp | nrhp_type2 = cp | partof = Dealey Plaza Historic District | partof_refnum = 93001607<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2013a}}</ref> | partof2 = [[West End Historic District (Dallas)|Westend Historic District]] | partof2_refnum = 78002918<ref name="nris"/> | image = | caption = Dallas County Courthouse in 2024 | location = 100 S. Houston St.,<br />[[Dallas, Texas]] | coordinates = {{coord|32|46|45|N|96|48|25|W|display=inline,title}} | locmapin = Texas#USA | mapframe = yes | mapframe-marker = building | mapframe-zoom = 12 |mapframe-caption = Interactive map showing the location for the former Dallas County Courthouse | map_label = Dallas County Courthouse | locmap_relief = yes | area = {{convert|2|acre}} | built = {{Start date|1891}} | architect = Orlopp & Kusener | architecture = [[Romanesque Revival architecture|Romanesque]] | website = {{Official website|url=https://www.oldred.org/|name=Old Red Museum of Dallas County History & Culture}} | added = December 12, 1976 | designated_nrhp_type = April 19, 1993 | designated_nrhp_type2 = November 14, 1978 | refnum = 76002019<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2013a}}</ref> | designated_other1=TSAL | designated_other1_date=January 1, 1981 | designated_other1_number=[https://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/Details/8200000203 8200000203] | designated_other1_num_position=bottom | designated_other2=RTHL | designated_other2_date=1977 | designated_other2_number=[http://atlas.thc.texas.gov/Details/5113006811 6811] | designated_other2_num_position=bottom | designated_other3_name = [[List of Dallas Landmarks|Dallas Landmark]] Historic District<br />[[Contributing Property]] | designated_other3_abbr = DLMKHD | designated_other3_color = #F5DEB3 | designated_other3_date = October 6, 1975<ref name="WestEnd">{{cite web|title=West End Historic District|url=http://dallascityhall.com/departments/sustainabledevelopment/historicpreservation/Documents/West%20End%20Report.pdf|author=Staff|date=August 4, 2016|page=3|publisher=Department of Urban Planning, City of Dallas|access-date=August 2, 2018}}</ref> | designated_other3_number = [http://dallascityhall.com/departments/sustainabledevelopment/historicpreservation/Pages/landmark_districts.aspx H/2] ([[West End Historic District (Dallas)|West End HD]]) | designated_other3_num_position = bottom }} The '''Dallas County Courthouse''', built in 1892 of red [[sandstone]] with rusticated marble accents, is a historic [[governmental]] building located at 100 [[Houston Street (Dallas)|South Houston Street]] in [[Dallas, Texas]]. Four of five previous courthouse structures were destroyed by fire. Also known as the '''Old Red Courthouse''', it became the '''Old Red Museum''', a local history museum, in 2007. In 2021, it was announced that the Old Red Museum would be moving out and that the building would again be a hall of justice. The [[Fifth Court of Appeals of Texas|Texas Fifth District Court of Appeals]] moved into Old Red in 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Old Red Museum of Dallas County History & Culture |url=https://www.oldred.org/ |access-date=2025-10-17 |website=Old Red Museum of Dallas County History & Culture |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2021-09-23 |title=Dallas County's Old Red Courthouse Will Soon Be a Courthouse Again |url=https://www.dmagazine.com/frontburner/2021/09/dallas-countys-old-red-courthouse-will-soon-be-a-courthouse-again/ |access-date=2024-03-22 |website=D Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref>

It was designed in the [[Richardsonian Romanesque]] style of architecture by architect Max A. Orlopp Jr. of the [[Little Rock, Arkansas]] based firm Orlopp & Kusener. Four of five previous courthouse structures were destroyed by fire, which is one reason why the building was constructed using masonry and cubic stone.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Old Red Courthouse Clock Tower Renovation |url=https://masoncontractors.org/project/old-red-courthouse-clock-tower-renovation/ |access-date=2025-06-29 |website=masoncontractors.org}}</ref>

In 1904, the famed prohibition activist [[Carrie Nation]] gave a fiery lecture on temperance inside one of the courtrooms, attracting a crowd that overflowed into the hallways.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2025-07-13 |title=The Old Red Courthouse - Authentic Texas |url=https://authentictexas.com/the-old-red-courthouse/ |access-date=2025-07-21 |website=authentictexas.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

In 1910, the courthouse was the site of the [[lynching of Allen Brooks]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Walker • • |first=Noelle |date=2023-07-27 |title=Historical marker dedicated at Dallas' Old Red Courthouse marks a dark day in the city's history |url=https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/dedication-of-historical-marker-at-old-red-courthouse-marks-a-dark-day-in-dallas-history/3305063/ |access-date=2025-06-29 |website=NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth |language=en-US}}</ref> [[John F. Kennedy|President John F. Kennedy's]] motorcade passed the courthouse minutes before his [[assassination of John F. Kennedy|assassination]] on November 22, 1963.

The building's signature clock tower was 123 feet tall and featured a two-ton bell. In 1919, it was removed because it was structurally unstable. The void where the tower was would remain for nearly a century until it was rebuilt as part of a major renovation project in 2007.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Writer |first=Masako Melissa Hirsch {{!}} Staff |date=2014-06-07 |title=Behind Closed Doors: A clock with a view |url=http://res.dallasnews.com/interactives/behind_closed_doors/clocktower/index.html |access-date=2025-07-27 |website=res.dallasnews.com |language=en}}</ref>

In 1935, [[Sarah T. Hughes]] was sworn in as the first female judge in Texas.<ref name=":0" />

In 1966, the courthouse was replaced by a newer building nearby. On December 12, 1976, it was added to the [[National Register of Historic Places]]. In 2005&ndash;2007 the building was renovated.<ref name="nris" /><ref>[http://www.texasescapes.com/DallasTexas/Dallas-County-Courthouse-Dallas-Texas.htm Texas Escapes: Texas Courthouses: Dallas County]</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.joeysgarage.com/TexasCourthouses/dallas.htm |title=Old Red Courthouse |access-date=June 27, 2011 |archive-date=March 26, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120326074815/http://www.joeysgarage.com/TexasCourthouses/dallas.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> <ref>[https://www.flickr.com/photos/courthouselover/2169777649/ flickr photo and text on Old Dallas County Courthouse]</ref><ref>[http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/texas/dallas/courthouse/orlopp.html Images of Old Red Courthouse]</ref>

==Gallery== <gallery widths="180px> Old Red Museum January 2016 10.jpg|Museum interior Old Red Museum January 2016 03 (Early Years Gallery).jpg|Early Years Gallery Old Red Museum January 2016 05 (Trading Center Gallery).jpg|Trading Center Gallery Old Red Museum January 2016 07 (Big "D" Gallery).jpg|Big "D" Gallery Old Red Museum January 2016 08 (World Crossroads Gallery).jpg|World Crossroads Gallery Old Red Museum January 2016 09 (Children's Education Center).jpg|Children's Education Center Dallas County Courthouse (1909).jpg|Dallas County Courthouse postcard, circa 1909 </gallery>

==See also== {{Portal|National Register of Historic Places|Texas}} *[[List of county courthouses in Texas]] *[[List of Dallas Landmarks]] *[[List of National Historic Landmarks in Texas]] *[[National Register of Historic Places listings in Dallas County, Texas]] *[[List of Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks (Cameron-Duval)#Dallas County|Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks in Dallas County]]

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== *{{commons category-inline|Old Red Museum}}

{{Downtown Dallas}} {{National Register of Historic Places in Texas}}

[[Category:Museums in Dallas]] [[Category:History museums in Texas]] [[Category:County courthouses in Texas]] [[Category:Buildings and structures in Dallas]] [[Category:Government buildings completed in 1891]] [[Category:Courthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas]] [[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Dallas]] [[Category:Clock towers in Texas]] [[Category:Sandstone buildings in the United States]] [[Category:Richardsonian Romanesque architecture in Texas]]