County Seat – Eagle Pass
Built – 1885 (restored 2005)
Architect – Wahrenberger & Beckman
Style – romanesque Revival, “with its Second Empire influences resembles a Spanish fortress or an early government building in Mexico City. It is a beautifully appropriate structure for the bicultural county seat.”*
Pictures Taken – 9/1/2006
see Historic Maverick County Courthouse
This wonderful 19th century building is situated in the border town of Eagle Pass. Not an economic powerhouse, Eagle Pass is probably now best known for being the home of the only legal casino in Texas – the Lucky Eagle.
The courthouse is a delight on the outside. I’m impressed with the lack of grandeur for the entry. They are rather two small ‘porches’ allowing access to the interior. One huge disappointment is the the fact that we did not get to go into the interior of this restored jewel. From the pictures I’ve seen, it may well be worth a trip back (maybe in conjunction with a quick visit to the casino). Also, there’s a new courthouse, that we didn’t know about, so we didn’t capture any pictures of that. No matter – this building has to outshine anything they might have built in the past 20 years or so.
* – see resources for Mike Andrews book