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Dade County Courthouse

Miami-Dade County Courthouse
73 W Flagler Street | Miami, Florida 33130
Telephone: (305) 275-1155 | Business Hours: 9:00am- 4:00 pm

When county government was established following the Civil War, public records were so sparse they could be carried in a carpetbag and most probably were. Therefore, the "courthouse" was wherever the county's chief office holder decided to do business.

In 1890, Miami-Dade County's first courthouse stood in the town of Juno, Florida some ten miles north of West Palm Beach. At that time, Miami-Dade County covered more territory than it does today, stretching from Bahia Hondo, in the middle Keys up to the St. Lucie River north of Palm Beach.

Juno was chosen as the "county seat" because of its strategic location at the southern terminus of the Jupiter-Juno railroad, as well as, the northern terminus of the boat and connecting stagecoach line to Miami. The courthouse remained in Juno (now no longer in existence), until 1899 when it was moved to Miami "down the inland waterway on a barge and was placed on the banks of the Miami River, east of the old Miami Avenue bridge.

The building was a two story wooden frame construction, housing offices and jail cells on the ground floor and a courtroom on the second floor. In 1904, this building was replaced by a new courthouse building situated on Flagler Street (then known as "D" Street). It was a magnificent building constructed of coquina rock, having an elegant red-domed top. All this at the outrageous cost of $47,000! It was anticipated that this courthouse would serve the city for at least fifty years, however, no one was prepared for the rapid growth Miami experienced during this period, and by 1924, only twenty years later, there was serious talk of the need for a larger courthouse.

City and County officials readily approved the plans drawn up by architect Antony Teneycke Brown. It was decided to build the new courthouse at the same location as the existing one on Flagler Street. Construction began in 1925, with workers erecting the new building around the existing structure, which was then dismantled. Community leaders and citizens alike voiced excitement over the new 28 story "skyscraper" that would soon dominate the skyline.

Unexpectedly, construction was halted when the building reached ten stories. It was discovered that the "high-rise" was sinking into the spongy ground. Engineers consulted with an architect from Mexico City who had encountered a similar problem while building the city's opera house. The consultant determined that the foundation pilings were not set deep enough. To correct the problem cement supports were poured which take up much of the space in the building's basement file room even to this day.

The courthouse was finally completed in 1928 at a cost of four million dollars. Initially, it served as both the Dade County Courthouse and the Miami City Hall. Jail cells occupied the top nine floors because these heights offered "maximum security" and were considered escape proof! In 1934 a prisoner housed on the twenty-first floor, picked the lock of his jail cell window and used a fire hose to lower himself to freedom. In the years following, more than 70 prisoners escaped from this so-called secure prison.

For many years the Dade County Courthouse, at an elevation of 360 feet, was reputed to be the tallest building south of Baltimore. It was the County's first high-rise and is in the National Register of Historic Places. Efforts to refurbish this magnificent structure and restore it to its original grandeur have been underway since 1981. Currently, the restoration of the lobby to its original distinction is the passion of engineer Don Youatt, of the Metro-Dade Planning and Development Department. With a little less than half of the funding necessary for the lobby restoration project in hand ($300,000 grant approved by the Legislature in 1996) the Dade County Bar Association will act as the fund-raising umbrella and initiate a drive to raise the remainder needed from lawyers and the general public.

Today, the Dade County Courthouse, provides offices, chambers and courtrooms for the clerks and judiciary assigned to the Circuit and County Civil Court and the Family Court. Its hopes to serve the county as a focal point for all of its governmental activity, soon were overpowered and unseated by a tremendous growth of population which continues to the present. The Courthouse, once the hope for a grand future, now simply stands as a memory of a grand and hopeful past.