This can been seen in several of the photos from around the area, but I think this is the first time I posted a photo of it specifically... This is the historic LaPorte County, IN courthouse (located in La Porte city, where else? ;) - it is the third county courthouse, but has had a long run as the current one: Built between 1892 and 1894 at a cost of $300,000, the courthouse is made out of Lake Superior Red Sandstone shipped via boat to Michigan City and then by rail to La Porte. The carving of the stones was done right on the site. It was designed by Brentwood S. Tolan and constructed in the Richardsonian Romanesque architecture style he was known for (That's right, Richardsonian! How 'bout that? ;) Other buildings in the surrounding square were built in far less cool High Victorian Italianate style. (Anything Richardsonian rules by default, hah! ;) The courthouse features a tower with skylight, gargoyles, an impressive courtroom with oak paneling and stained glass windows, and the LaPorte County Museum run by the Historical Society. Located in the courthouse basement since 1938, the museum was moved in 1978 to more spacious quarters in the new courthouse annex. The building exterior was extensively restored in 2007 at a cost of $2.9 million. As part of the Downtown La Porte Historic District, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Historic District is the area around Indiana and Michigan avenues - it contains a lot of buildings and homes of architectural and historical interest (which explains why a lot of the old buildings I posted photos of are around here.) During the 1850s, many maple trees were raised on the farm of and planted along the avenues by Sebastian F. Lay, who was the son of a German forester (and somehow grew specially beautiful maple trees none could match with his secret german forest tree wispering ;) Lay was compensated 50 cents a tree by the city of La Porte. And thus La Porte was known for its maple trees and became the "City of Maples." - Which was good because it soon had to ditch its other title, "city of the lakes"... while there are still many small lakes around, the water level plummeted in the early 1900s and steamboat travel ended around 1904. So, faced with the choice of being known for lakes you couldn't travel on or trees that did nothing but grow beautifully La Porte turned its back on the lakes and went with the trees ;) Best viewed full size. Thanks for looking & commenting. Previous Photo: ----------- * RangeRiderRichard's Photo Albums