The attorneys I work with tell me that the Luzerne County Courthouse is the most beautiful county courthouse building in the entire Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Now, I don’t always believe what lawyers tell me, and I haven’t actually seen every courthouse in the state’s 67 counties, but I know this: our courthouse building sure is a dandy!

Luzerne County was formed in 1786 and the first county courthouse was not much more than a simple log cabin built on Public Square in Wilkes-Barre. There were two others after this one at the same location.

Right before the turn of the century, in 1892, the idea for this courthouse was conceived. Several years, architects, budgets and lawsuits later, our crowning glory was erected at the corner of River and North Streets in Wilkes-Barre. In June 1980, the building was placed on the national Register of Historical Places.

Most elementary and/or high school students living here visit the courthouse as part of a field trip. I know I did and as a student, my son did, too. Anyone serving jury duty has the chance to walk around the building. Part of my job takes me to the courthouse on a regular basis. It never grows old or routine. I still walk around like Dorothy from Kansas, with my mouth open, gawking up at the dome with its stained glass and marble.

The inside is a venerable history lesson that is every bit as good as you’ll get touring the buildings of Philadelphia or Washington, DC. The paintings in the courtrooms represent the following: “The Awakening of a Commonwealth”; “Justice”; “The Symbols of Life”; “The Judicial Virtues”; and “Prosperity Under the Law”. (don’t even)

The founders and those who influenced our county are immortalized in mosaic portraits surrounding the first floor ceiling. There are dozens and dozens. To name a few: John N. Conyngham, President Judge; Jesse Fell, Judge of Luzerne County and first person to burn anthracite in an open gate; John Wilkes and Issac Barre, English Statesmen who supported the American cause; Matthias Hollenback one of the six original Judges of Luzerne County; Zebulon Butler Revolutionary Soldier, commander of the American forces at the Battle of Wyoming; and Paxinosa, a Shawanese Indian Chief in Wyoming Valley who was friendly to the early settlers.

The courthouse is open from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. every weekday. Take your chances finding a parking spot across the street. The nice security guards will help you cross River Street to the South Lawn Entrance. If you park at the Water Street Parkade and walk through the tunnel under North Street, you will enter the building through the back. Either way, the nice security guards are at the entrance. Leave your knives and guns at home. Plan to fork over your cell phone if it takes photos, then you can go in and look around to see some of this for yourself. It truly is magnificent in scale and grandeur.

If you can’t take this trip during the day, you can take a virtual tour at: http://www.luzernecounty.org/county/courthouse_tour_online

(NOTE: The photos here are not mine. They are taken from the county’s website. I found the same photos in a “Luzerne County Court House” booklet. Christopher Barone is given photograph credit in that, so I’m doing the same here. They sure are beautiful!)