Wooster Ohio

A quick picture tonight from our hometown, Wooster, Ohio. The picture below is recognizable by anyone who has lived in town. The two guys holding up the doorway at the Wayne County courthouse. Any kid who grew up in Wooster was terrified by these guys whenever you went downtown to shop at Freedlanders.

I guarantee they don't make courthouses like this anymore. Here is what I found about these guys:

The cornerstone-laying ceremonies for the present courthouse took place on Oct. 9, 1878. Architect for the project was Thomas Boyd of Pittsburgh, Pa., who enjoyed a regional reputation. Boyd designed the structure in a style known as Second Empire, named for the reign of Napoleon III of France. At the time the architectural style was the rage in the United States. A close architectural relative of the Wayne County Courthouse is Philadelphia City Hall, built in 1871.

To do the extensive stonework needed on the courthouse, Boyd brought in a group of itinerant Italian stonemasons. It was they who carved—among the myriad of other architectural details—the four huge figures of Atlas which support the entablatures and pediments over the south and east entranceways. These figures were carved from solid blocks of stone that had already been set in place in the structure. Boyd topped the courthouse with a mansard-style roof, then in vogue, which permitted usable space on the top floor"

If you want to read more, information can be found here.