Adams County | US Courthouses

Adams County is named for Alva Adams, who was the fifth, tenth and fourteenth Governor of the State of Colorado.

Surrounding County Courthouses:

N – Weld County and Morgan County

E – Washington County

S – Arapahoe County and Denver County

W – Denver County, Jefferson County and Broomfield County

Created: Novemver 15, 1902

County Seat:

Brighton 1902 – present

County Justice Center – Brighton

Location: 1100 Judicial Drive / East 152 Avenue

Built: 1996 – 1998

Style: Modern

Architect: Anderson Mason Dale of Denver and Hellmuth Obata & Kassabaum

Contractor: M A Mortenson Company of Denver

Description: The building faces west and is a six story brick, concrete and glass structure. The building is located on spacious grounds on the east side of Brighton. The building is “L” shaped. The west front has a large one story entrance section with glass panel walls. The roof line is flat. The building houses the County District Court and County Court of the 17th Judicial District.

Old County Courthouse ( City Hall ) - Brighton

Location: 450 South 4th Avenue / East Southern Street

Built: 1975 – 1977

Style: Modern

Architect: Anderson Mason Dale of Denver

Contractor: The Perl-Mack Companies of Denver

Description: The building faces west and is a six story concrete and glass structure. The building is located on the spacious grounds of the former fairgrounds in the center of Brighton. The rectangular shaped building has horizontal windows with dividers. The central entrance on the first story has a projecting section with glass panel walls. The building now serves as the City Hall.

County Government Center – Brighton

Location: 4430 South Adams County Parkway / East 124th Avenue

Built: 2007 – 2010

Style: Modern

Architect: Gensler & Associates

Contractor: Saunders Construction Inc. of Centennial

Description: The buildings face southwest and is a complex of brick, concrete and glass structures. The complex is located on spacious grounds to the south of the center of Brighton. The center section has a five story building with projecting wings and a recessed center with glass panel walls. On the north and south sides are one story building connecting to the central building. The roof line is flat.

Old County Courthouse – Brighton

Location: 22 South 4th Avenue / East Bridge Street

Built: 1905 – 1906

Style: Classical Revival

Architect: John James Huddart

Contractor: A B McDonald

Description: The building faces west and is a two story red colored brick and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Brighton. The west front has a large portico with four white colored Truscan columns rising to a pediment at the roof line. A white colored cornice runs below the flat roof line. The interior contains many of the original maple finishes in doors, door frames, baseboards, and window frames. Most notable are the etched glass windows with a variety of patterned designs in many of the doors. The flooring is a tongue and groove vertical grain of pine. The Heritage Room (former courtroom) on the second story has pressed tin ceilings. The building was enlarged in 1939. The architect was Richard O Perry and Lester L Jones of Denver and the contractor was N R Nielsen of Denver. The building currently houses the Brighton City Hall government offices and is named as the Historic City Hall.

See: The architect, John J Huddart of Denver, Colorado, designed courthouses in Colorado in Arapahoe County, Cheyenne County, Custer County, Elbert County, Logan County, Saguache County, Summit County and Washington County, and in Nebraska in Deuel County and Garden County.

See: National Register of Historic Places – Adams County Courthouse

Former County Justice Center – Brighton

Location: 1931 East Bridge Street / 19th Street

Built: 1961 – 1963 / demolished 1977

Style: Modern

Architect: Unknown

Contractor: Unknown

Description: The building faced south and was a two story concrete and glass structure. The building was located on landscaped grounds to the east of the old courthouse. The circular building had concrete pilasters on the second story between the windows. The roof line was flat. The building served as the Hall of Justice and housed the courts. The building was demolished in 1977 when the fourth courthouse was completed.

See: The 17th Judicial District includes Broomfield County.

History: The county was created in 1902 and Brighton was selected as the county seat. The county leased the house owned by D F Carmichael as the first courthouse. On January 22, 1904, the house was destroyed by fire. The second courthouse was the home of Herman Reuter which was also leased for $100 per month. The third courthouse was constructed in 1905 to 1906 at a cost of $41,725 and is still standing. The cost of the 1939 addition was $74,200. In 1961 to 1963, the Hall of Justice was constructed at East Bridge Street and 19th Street and was demolished in 1977. The fourth courthouse was constructed in 1975 to 1977 and is now the City Hall. The third courthouse was sold to Frank Mann and then to the City of Brighton. The fifth courthouse was constructed in 1996 to 1997 as the County Justice Center. The County Government Center was constructed in 2007 to 2010.