Midland's Tudor courthouse has glass-bright murals

Walk up to the Midland County Courthouse and you may expect columns and a dome. Instead, you see a steep roof, brick walls, timbered gables, and leaded windows. It looks more like an English country house than a government building. The National Park Service calls the style Tudor Revival and names Bloodgood Tuttle as the architect. The official records reviewed here do not support the old claim that this is Michigan’s only Tudor courthouse.

The walls carry the better story. Michigan’s historical marker says Dow Chemical made a new type of stucco from local brine. Dow employee Donald Gibb worked with Detroit artist Paul Honoré on the mix, called a “plastic mosaic.” Ground glass took the place of sand and gave the walls their color and sparkle. Honoré spread the mix with a palette knife. He formed raised outdoor scenes of Native people, lumbermen, and traders.

Herbert H. Dow gave extra money and materials for the courthouse. He laid its cornerstone on March 29, 1925, and the building opened for use on January 1, 1926. SAH Archipedia says the outdoor murals were restored in 2005-06. Midland County says an $8 million update to the working courthouse was finished in 2018.

The county calls it one of Michigan’s most photographed courthouses. You can see the outside from Main Street. Please treat the murals as public art, not something to touch or climb on. This is still an active courthouse, so anyone going inside must pass through security.