Day 1 Jan 11
It is beautiful weather in Florida this week and Bill and I decided to knockoff a few more courthouses and attend a Jazz concert by friend our friend in Sarasota. We met up at Coney Island Dogs in Brooksville in central Florida for a foot long and a drink. This place made the list because Elvis ate there in when he was making the movie "Follow Your Dream" . The place was very busy and the dog was acceptable.
From there we headed downtown to the Hernando County courthouse. There was a new courthouse connected to the old as is the norm in many places and we had follow signs around the building endlessly to find the authorized entrance. As usual everyone was helpful but the person with the key to restored courtroom was gone to lunch and we chose not wait but just peeked in the window.
From Brooksville we headed to Dade City and the Pasco County Courthouse. It was a nice rural ride with some actual rolling landscape. We did a drive by photo of the modern uninteresting new courthouse complex and headed over to the old original courthouse. It was extremely interesting. We were met by Cherry the receptionist and Maria an assistant to a county commissioner. The building is not used by the county commission for offices and meetings. Maria and Cherry where very knowledgeable about the building and it's history and readily shared that info with us. In xxxx, when the new court house complex was built, the county restored the courthouse to its original footprint. This meant tearing down additions that had been added on over the years. Bill, having studied restorative architecture in college was very impressed.
We said goodbye to Cherry and Maria and headed to St. Pete. We had a lovely evening with Walt and Rich at the hanger restaurant.
Year Built: 1913
Architectural Style: Neo-Classical
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| Hernado County |
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| Peeking in the window of the old courtroom |
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| The sign on the ceiling says "problem solving courts" |
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| Pasco County Judicial Center |
Year Built: 1909
Architectural Style: Neo-Classical
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| Pasco county historical courthouse |
Day 2
Today started with coffee with Larry and David. When Larry's ship comes in Bill will design the house Larry plans to build on the "plantation".
We waited for the peak hour of morning traffic to pass and headed to Clearwater and the old Pinellas County Courthouse. It is a great building and there are still minor court cases heard in some of the courtrooms. Deputy Harold was a great guide. He took us everywhere we wanted to go and allowed pictures of whatever he wanted. We followed his suggestion and followed him into the legal library.
There are legal books and journals from the 1800's and a great and interesting librarian who told us some short ghost stories. Deputy Harold was unable to take us down to the old jail that is now used as gym for the judges and other courthouse people. I later learned that my friend Judge John has the keys to the old cells that no longer exist.
From there we made our way across the causeway to downtown Tampa and the Hillsborough County Courthouse. This is a large complex that I have visited in the past to watch Judge John perform. We took the picture and moved on.
We traveled down US41 through Gibbston, Apollo Beach and Ruskin headed to Bradenton and the Manatee County Court house. Gibbston is where are the old traveling carnival and Ringling Brothers lived. Ruskin used to be famous for the tomatoes but now the only thing they grow in the field is houses.
After lunch at in the Riverside Cafe in Palmetto we crossed the Manatee County Courthouse. We took our picture and then moved across the street to a small wedge of parking. The parking officer came by was extremely friendly saying we could stay as long as we liked in that location This was the beginning of meeting a whole group of "bureaucrats" that were totally customer service friendly. After clearing security we ran into Kay and Pam. They are at the information desk and where great people to meet. We asked if we could get into to see the original courthouse and they said we can do better than that. We will get the Assist Clerk of Courts, Barbara, to give us a personal tour. Barbara was a fantastic tour guide. She has been working in the courthouse for thirty years and still loves. Kay also retired after thirty years but came back. The courtroom, no longer used for real trials, has been restored to it's original condition. The attitude of the courthouse was set by Chips Shore who was the Clerk of Court for many, many years. He felt that people were already intimidated and stressed just coming to the courthouse and it was the job of the courthouse employees to put them at ease. The best we could tell, his plan is working.
From the there we rode over to the Manatee Village Historical Park to see the original county courthouse built in 1860. The village has several old structures from the 1860. An interesting fact about Manatee County is all the parks are under the supervision of the Clerk of Courts.
From there we saddled up and headed to Sarasota for the Sarasota County Courthouse and the first unfriendly bailiff. We took our pictures of the new complex and moved around the old courthouse. We took our exterior pictures and moved inside to look at the old courtrooms. We explained to deputy what we were wanting to do and he was totally unfriendly and unhelpful. There are old courtrooms in the building but he insisted that they are "sealed off", a fact that we know it false. They may be locked but not "sealed off". We were a bit shocked by his actions since in the last thirty nine courthouses we had been so warmly welcomed. We decided to move on the Mangers Happy Hour at our overnight hotel a few blocks down the street.
We stayed at the Embassy Suites. I shan't list all the complaints I have about this place. I have stayed here in the past and been very pleased, but I will not be back.
That evening we spent at Burns Court Bistro listening to fellow Cannonballer and jazz trumpeter Shane Chalk and his trio. He is good and it was a great way to end a great day.
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| Gypsy Soul cafe |
Year Built: 1918
Architectural Style: Classical Revival
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| Pinellas County Courthouse |
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| It still works |
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| Two of the old courtrooms |
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| The legal library |
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| Deputy Adkins |
Year Built: 2000
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| Hillsborough County Courthouse. |
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| Herald the metermaid. Nice guy!! |
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| Kay and Pam the greeters at the Manatee County Courthouse |
| These gumball machines are how the judges used to be selected for cases. |
| Manatee 1860 Courthouse. The first courthouse in Florida they say. |
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| Sarasota County Judicial Center |
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| Sarasota County Historic Courthouse |
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| Shane and gang making Miles Davis music |
Day 3
Bill and I left around nine and headed to our respective homes. Yesterday, winding through the back roads of Bradenton, we passed General Propellor. It just so happens my neighbor, Paul Fox, has worked there for thirty years and I stopped in for a visit and a tour.
From there I zinged across the Skyway Bridge and was home by 10:30.
