Marlin's Courthouse Put Art Moderne on the Square

Look across the facade at 125 Bridge Street and the limestone eagles are easy to spot between the flat stone panels. Falls County's active courthouse was completed in 1939 from an Art Moderne design by Dallas architect Arthur E. Thomas.

Gray limestone, shellstone details, steel casement windows, and pink granite steps give the outside its pattern. A three-story central tower rises over the entrance. Inside, the restored halls carry seafoam green walls, rose and gray marble wainscots, two-tone terrazzo floors, and ribbed-glass light fixtures.

Falls County rededicated the restored building on October 16, 2021. The work replaced old electrical systems and window air-conditioning units while preserving the public rooms. A bell salvaged from an earlier courthouse now rests on the lawn, keeping two generations of the county square in the same view.