Facts

📍 State: Missouri / City: St. Louis

🗓️ Year Built: 1839

🧑‍🎨 Architect: Henry Singleton

🏛️ Architectural Style: Greek Revival Architecture with Italian-Renaissance influence

💎 Unique Details: The courthouse has a cruciform layout with four interior courtyards and a striking central rotunda. In 1861, its original cupola was replaced with the first cast and wrought iron dome in the U.S., modeled after St. Peter’s Basilica. Inside, four lunettes display murals of key moments in St. Louis history. A unique self-supporting spiral staircase, installed in 1854, winds upward without a central support.

Why See It?

Some of the most pivotal court cases in American history were heard inside its courtrooms. It is where Dred and Harriet Scott sued for freedom, Virginia Minor fought for her right as a woman to vote, and more than 300 enslaved African Americans filed suit for their freedom. [Source: archpark.org]

Nearby Highlights

Gateway Arch National Park – The Old Courthouse is located within the national park. The park also features the Museum at the Gateway Arch, with immersive exhibits on westward expansion, Native American history, and the building of the Arch. The park grounds offer scenic riverfront views, walking trails, and tram rides to the top of the 630-foot Arch for panoramic views of St. Louis.

Gateway Arch with downtown St. Louis in background

Photo Gallery

View from the top of Gateway Arch
Front view of the historic Old Courthouse
Downtown St. Louis with the Old Courthouse and Gateway Arch
Dred and Harriet Scott Statuę in front of Old Courthouse