If I remember correctly, the contractor for this building was the father of the painter George Bellows; I believe he was also the architect of record for the old Franklin County Jail, which stood around the corner and probably out of sight behind this view; marvelously grim, and also demolished. I remember visiting this building as it was slated for demolition and interior fixtures and artifacts were being auctioned of and dismantled. Like so many midwestern downtowns, Columbus resembles more and more a suburban office park, with little of the density and less of the visual interest ( i.e. life) it once possessed.

As a student at Ohio State we used to love going downtown to the State House and the Old Courthouse and watch the office girls going to lunch during the spring and summer. The State House is still there, but the court house, just a few blocks away is gone.

"The arrival of the Hall of Justice brought the history of the 1887 courthouse to a rapid close. Once the last of the old building’s occupants moved out, the county held a public auction to dispose of the remaining fixtures, although thieves had already taken much. After a group of preservationists waged an unsuccessful legal campaign to save the building, it met with the wrecking ball in October 1974, and the park now known as Dorrian Commons took its place. No county courthouse in Ohio has been torn down since**."

** No longer true. Seneca County Courthouse, built in 1884, was demolished in January 2012 after similar efforts also failed.