WASHINGTON, DC – The DC Courts are pleased to announce that the recently renovated Historic Courthouse has won several awards since the grand opening on Law Day, May 1, 2009. 
 
Among the awards the renovation received are: 
 
2009 District of Columbia Award for Excellence in Historic Preservation  2009 Downtown BID Momentum Award as a Landmark Development Project 2009 Washington Chapter AIA Award of Merit in Historic Resources  2009 Associated General Contractors, Mid-Atlantic Construction Project  of the Year Award for Government/Public   2009 McGraw-Hill Construction’s Best of the Best Award/Mid-Atlantic 2009 McGraw-Hill Construction’s Best of the Best Award/National   (announced January 2010) 2010 Washington Building Congress - Craftsmanship award /Lighting Systems  2010 Associated General Contractors of America – National Merit Award   (to be presented on March 19, 2010) 
 
One of the oldest public buildings in the District of Columbia, construction began on the Historic Courthouse in 1820 and since that time it has served as a courthouse, city hall and housed several federal offices.  Over the years Frederick Douglass, Daniel Webster, Francis Scott Key, Theodore Roosevelt, and other historic figures occupied offices in the building.  Famous trials were heard in the building’s courtrooms, including Congressman Sam Houston’s trial for assault on a fellow Member of Congress, Daniel Drayton’s trial for attempting to help 76 slaves escape on the schooner Pearl, John Surratt’s trial for his alleged role in the plot to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln, and several of the trials that arose out of the Teapot Dome scandal of the 1920s. 
 
In 2002, the DC Courts began a restoration and expansion program with the goal of returning the architectural landmark to its previous grandeur, while at the same time transforming it into a fullyfunctioning modern courthouse. Now completed, the courthouse restoration, designed by Beyer Blinder Belle, represents one of the most significant and complex historic preservation projects in Washington, DC.  Once again, the Courthouse stands as a Neo-Classical temple on a green hill, the centerpiece of Judiciary Square, and a significant green space in Pierre L’Enfant’s original vision for the capital of a new nation.   

Historic drawing and photo courtesy of the DC Preservation League 
 
Additional information on the awards: 
 
2009 District of Columbia Award for Excellence in Historic Preservation Thirteen local businesses and organizations were given awards for “exemplary work and commitment to historic preservation, adaptive reuse, and public education.”  The Historic Courthouse received the State Historic Preservation Officer’s Award. 
 
2009 Downtown BID Momentum Award as a Landmark Development Project As a project that has brought innovation and excitement to Downtown DC over the past year. Renovated the DC Courthouse and transformed it into an attractive and accessible fixture on the Downtown landscape, providing a new home for the DC Court of Appeals.   http://www.downtowndc.org/news/current/item/star-achievements  
 
2009 Washington Chapter AIA Award of Merit in Historic Resources  http://www.aiadc.com/winners_chapter_mhr.asp  
 
2009 Associated General Contractors - Mid-Atlantic Construction Project of the Year Award   for Government-Public Building The jury focused on those projects that best achieved the established goals of the project team; overcame significant challenges; adopted innovative approaches; executed exceptional design and craftsmanship; maintained safe sites; and displayed strong teamwork. http://midatlantic.construction.com/PDFs/Bestof09PressRelease.pdf  
 
2009 McGraw-Hill Construction's Best of the Best Award/ Mid-Atlantic  http://midatlantic.construction.com/features/archive/2009/winter09_F5_HistoricDCCourthouse.asp  
 
2009 McGraw-Hill Construction's Best of the Best Award/ National    http://california.construction.com/PDFs/Best_of_the_Best_Awards_2009.pdf  “The $99-million project restored a building designed in 1820 to serve as the District of Columbia’s first City Hall.  The project entailed a variety of complex structural, mechanical and engineering challenges, most significantly the excavation required for a new courtroom.  The courtroom required hand-digging underpinning pits to lower the existing foundation more than 30 feet.”  Engineering News-Record, January 4, 2010. 
 
2010 Washington Building Congress - Craftsmanship award - Lighting Systems  Singleton Electric has received the 2010 Lighting Systems Craftmanship award for the Historic Courthouse renovation.    http://www.wbcnet.org/winners2010.htm  

2010 Associated General Contractors of America – National Merit Award  Aon Build America Awards for 2010 - The Build America awards showcase the best of construction, recognizing outstanding contractors building America’s buildings, bridges, roadways and municipal and utility construction. 

For more information about the Historic Courthouse, including photos of the newly-renovated courthouse and a detailed building history, go to: http://www.dcappeals.gov/dccourts/appeals/historic_courthouse/historic_courthouse.jsp