Alpena County Circuit Court

Story

The Alpena County Courthouse is a generic term used to describe various courthouses in Alpena, Michigan. These included buildings which housed the Circuit Court, the District Court and the Probate court .Alpena County's first courthouse was destroyed by a fire on December 12, 1870. Its replacement built in 1881 met a similar fate on December 22, 1932. The current courthouse built in 1934 is an historic Art deco courthouse building located at 720 Chisholm Avenue in Alpena, Michigan. It was designed by architect William H. Kuni of Detroit and built by the Henry C. Webber Construction Co. of locally produced poured Portland cement made from locally quarried limestone. According to Kuni, it was the first monolithic poured building constructed during the winter in a cold climate. Kuni also designed the Tuscola County Court House.It was financed partly by local bonds and WPA grants.The building, dubbed "Fort Alpena" by a local writer, is embellished by architectural sculpture, including an eagle perched atop the clock on the main facade and figures of Justice and Law as well as "fascia designs show images of the county's lumbering, shipbuilding, farming, fishing and recreational industries."