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King County has researched the history of courthouses in its jurisdiction; it noted of this first, wholly County-owned administration and court building: "In 1876, King County purchased a lot from Henry Yesler for the price of $3,500. On this site was to stand the first King County building on county owned property. The two-story wood, stone and brick structure occupied the corner of Third and Jefferson (the present site of City Hall Park) and cost $17,000 to build. It housed the jail in the basement and the auditor and the clerk on the upper floors. In 1881, the County's first courtroom was added to the property. It provided one courtroom and offices for court officials. This was to be the first of many unsightly additions to the original structure over the course of thirty years." (See Administrative Services Section, Public Information Branch of the Department of Construction and Facility Management, "King County, on the history of King County Courthouses,"Accessed 01/13/2011.) Only in 1889-1890, after the Washington Territory became a state, could King County legally build itself a courthouse. County administrators chose a site on First Hill, selected for its visibility not utility, and commissioned architect Willis A. Ritchie (1864-1931) to design it.

PCAD id: 16037