Exploring A Massive Abandoned Court House In Massachusetts
Worcester County Courthouse was originally built in 1843 in a Greek Revival architectural style in the city of Worcester, Massachusetts. The original Worcester County Courthouse was very small and soon became evident that it could not keep up with the expanding growth and population of Worcester County, so several expansions took place over the years following the original construction. The final expansion was in 1954, which included a new annex area to accommodate the central district court.
Worcester County Courthouse was an architectural masterpiece that exhibited touches from multiple different and unique architectural styles such as Greek Revival, Classical Revival and even International. The interior design of the courthouse complex contained marble, terrazzo, granite, rare woodwork, bronze, brass, iron, plaster, stained glass, and stone work. The building was breathtaking everywhere you would look, but the lobby featured two, twin sweeping marble staircases that would take you to the upper floors of the courthouse. This is where one would find the largest courtroom that was the prized design of the Worcester County Courthouse. This large courtroom featured a massive rounded dome ceiling with a glass skylight at the very top. Stone and plaster columns that came down from the massive dome, lined the inner walls of this large courtroom. The courthouse also featured another large modern courtroom, a smaller traditional courtroom, jail cells, and other various county clerk offices and law enforcement areas.
A brand new Worcester County Courthouse opened in 2007, leaving the old, historic Worcester County Courthouse vacant by 2008.
The Worcester County Courthouse was abandoned from 2008 until 2018, when it was announced that the former Worcester County Courthouse would be redeveloped into commercial and residential space.
By 2019, work was already underway to transform the one time courthouse into residential lofts and retail space.
As of 2021, the brand new Courthouse Lofts opened inside the former Worcester County Courthouse.
