Napa County is named for the native American group called the Napans.
Created: February 18, 1850
County Seat:
Napa 1850 – present
County Criminal Courthouse – Napa
Location: 1111 3rd Street / Brown Street
Built: 1996 – 1998
Style: Modern
Architect: Ross & Drulis Architects of Sonoma
Contractor: Lathrop Construction Associates of Benicia
Description: The building faces north and is a three story concrete and glass structure. The north front has a projecting center section with semi-circular canopy, five columns and glass entrance on the first story and three large windows on the second and third stories. The roof line is flat.
Old County Courthouse – Napa
Location: 827 Brown Street / 2nd Street
Built: 1878 – 1879
Style: High Victorian Italianate
Architect: Samuel Newsom and Joseph Newsom and Ira Gilchrist of Napa
Contractor: Unknown
Description: The building faces east and is a two story brick and cement structure. The building is part of the Courthouse Plaza complex. The outer walls are coated with Rosendale cement. The east front has a large central arch with recessed entrance. Vertical piasters run along the exterior and there is a small pediment at the roof line. The building is tiered outwards as it extends west. The windows have segmented arched hoods. The roof is hipped. A three story addition constructed in 1978, connected the building to the Hall of Records on the west side. The architect was Angello-Vitiello-Associates Inc. of Sacramento. The building was damaged by an earthquake on August 24, 2014. The damage is being assessed by AECOM.
Note: The first courthouse was a fabricated building barged up the Napa River and erected in 1851. The second courthouse was built in 1856. The cost of construction of the new courthouse in 1996 was $12,2000,000.
County Hall of Records – Napa
Location: 900 Coombs Street / 2nd Street
Built: 1915 – 1916
Style: Mission
Architect: William H Corlett
Contractor: Unknown
Description: The building faces west and is a two story reinforced concrete structure. The building is located on the west side of the courthouse and is part of the Courthouse Plaza complex. The west side has a framed entrance on the first story with pediment above. On the second story are large arched windows. The roof is hipped with red colored clay tiles. The building is connected to the courthouse addition on the east side.
County Administration Building – Napa
Location: 1195 3rd Street / Coombs Street
Built: 1978 – 1980
Style: Modern
Architect: William Jeffries Associates of Napa
Contractor: Unknown
Description: The building faces north and is a three story concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds and has an east wing and a west wing joined by a central section having entrances on the south and north sides. The windows are horizontal and the roof line is flat. The building was damaged by an earthquake on August 24, 2014 and Murray Building Inc. are undertaking the restoration work.
Courthouses:
N – Lake County and Yolo County
E – Yolo County and Solano County
S – Solano County
W – Sonoma County
Photos taken 2015