Okeechobee County Courthouse

The Okeechobee County Courthouse, built in 1926, is an historic courthouse building located at 304 Northwest Second Street in Okeechobee, Florida. It was designed by architect George Gaynor Hyde of Miami in what has been variously called the Southern Colonial Revival or Mediterranean Revival style of architecture. Due to the collapse of the Florida Land Boom during its construction, its central dome was never built. After the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane, its hallways were used as a temporary morgue. An open breezeway was planned and built through the center front of the first floor but was later enclosed; the winding stairways to the second floor courtroom still remain.[1][2][3]

Okeechobee County Courthouse
Okeechobee County Courthouse, 2006, before renovations.
Map
General information
Architectural styleSouthern Colonial Revival, Mediterranean Revival
Town or city304 NW 2nd St., Okeechobee, Florida
CountryUnited States
Coordinates27°14′41″N 80°49′56″W / 27.244793°N 80.832276°W / 27.244793; -80.832276
Construction started1925
Completed1926, accepted and opened 1927
Cost$200,000
ClientOkeechobee County
Design and construction
Architect(s)George Gaynor Hyde
EngineerBuilder: Rogers and Duncanson
Okeechobee County Courthouse, 2010, during renovations.
Okeechobee County Courthouse, 2010, after completion of renovations. Note: Photograph features the newly installed security door which is lowered at the close of business.

In 1989, the Okeechobee County Courthouse was listed in A Guide to Florida's Historic Architecture, published by the University of Florida Press.[4]

References

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  1. ^ Florida's Historic Courthouses
  2. ^ History of Okeechobee
  3. ^ Tommy Markham's Pictorial History of Okeechobee County, page 7A
  4. ^ A Guide to Florida's Historic Architecture, 1989, Gainesville: University of Florida Press, p. 131, ISBN 0-8130-0941-3