Miami-Dade County is named for the Mayaimi, a Native American tribe that lived around Lake Okeechobee until the 17th or 18th century and for Francis L Dade, who was killed at the Dade Battlefield at the start of the Second Seminole War in 1835, and the county changed name in 1997.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Broward County
S – Monroe County
W – Monroe County and Collier County
Created: January 18, 1836 
County Seat:
Indian Key 1836 – 1844
Miami 1844 – 1888
Juno 1888 – 1899
Miami 1899 – present
County Courthouse – Miami
Location: 73 West Flagler Street / NW 1st Avenue
Built: 1925 – 1927
Style: Classical Revival / Neo-Classical
Architect: Antony Ten Eyck Brown and August Geiger
Contractor: Fleischer Engineering & Construction Company
Description: The building faces south and is a twenty-eight story stone and concrete structure. The base of the building occupies the entire square and rises four stories. Above is the second tier rising four stories with a central tower rising another twenty stories with a temple-like octagonal upper story with pyramid roof. The upper stories are embellished with fluted columns of the Corinthian order. The south front has a porch with six large Doric columns rising to the top of the second story with a frieze.
See: The architect, Antony Ten Eyck Brown of Atlanta, Georgia, designed courthouses in Georgia in Cherokee County, Clarke County and Fulton County.
Lawson E Thomas Courthouse – Miami
Location: 175 NW 1st Avenue / NW 2nd Street
Built: 1982 – 1986
Style: Modern
Architect: Unknown
Contractor: Unknown
Description: The building faces west and is a thirty concrete and glass structure. The building is located on the north side of the courthouse. The west front has a row of columns supporting a wide header with plaza behind. The building is named as the Lawson E Thomas Courthouse.
Richard E Gerstein Justice Building – Miami
Location: 1351 NW 12th Street / NW 13th Avenue
Built: 1958 – 1960
Style: Modern
Architect: Unknown
Contractor: Unknown
Description: The building faces south and is a twelve cream and pink colored marble and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds to the northwest of the courthouse. The south front has a recessed entrance at the center of the first story. Grill work adorns the first story. The top stories are recessed and the roof line is flat. In 1992, the building was named as the Richard E Gerstein Justice Building.
Children’s Courthouse – Miami
Location: 155 NW 3rd Avenue / NW 2nd Street
Built: 2011 – 2014
Style: Modern
Architect: Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum, Inc. (HOK) and Perez & Perez Architects Planners
Contractor: Suffolk Construction Company, Inc.
Description: The building faces south and is a fourteen concrete and glass structure. The building is located to the northwest of the courthouse, The south front has a projecting section with vertical columns and large green colored glass walls. The main building is rectangular with patterned wall with small square windows and a green colored glass section on the east rising to the roof line. The flat roof line extends out from the building.
Cost: The cost of construction of the building was $320,000,000.
County Administration Building – Miami
Location: 150 NW 1st Street / NW 1st Avenue
Built: 1983 – 1985
Style: Modern
Architect: The Stubbins Associates
Contractor: Frank J Rooney, Inc.
Description: The building faces south and is a thirty-one story concrete and stone cladding structure. The building is called the Stephen P Clark Center. In 1994 the building facing was restored. The contractor was Structural preservation Systems Inc.
Other Branch Courthouses
Coral Gables / Cutler Bay ( South Dade ) / Hialeah / Miami Beach /
North Miami ( North Dade )
See: Located in the county is the Court of Appeal – Third Judicial District.
County Courthouse – Miami
Lawson E Thomas Courthouse – Miami
Richard E Gerstein Justice Building – Miami
Children’s Courthouse – Miami
County Administration Building – Miami
Photos taken 2009 and 2018