Situated at the southwest corner of downtown, overlooking the Cuyahoga River, the new twenty-two story courthouse is a prominent addition to the Cleveland skyline. Unmistakably a civic building, the new courthouse alludes to Cleveland’s tradition of grand civic architecture by the choice of materials, traditional limestone, and the incorporation of public art. The entrance is to be crowned with an artist's interpretation of Justice.

The Courthouse will accommodate twenty courtrooms and associated chambers, including chambers for three Circuit Court judges; the USCC Satellite Library, a grand jury suite, jury assembly room, and the District Court Clerk’s offices; and office space for the US Attorney, US Probation, US Pretrial Services, US Marshal, and several smaller departments. A cafeteria, an auditorium, a fitness center and parking for 203 staff vehicles are also provided. For security purposes, three separate and distinct interior circulation systems are incorporated into the design - public, judicial, and detainee.

The footprint of the building is a quarter round. The curved facade looks toward the Cuyahoga, over a landscaped “stairway,” which connects the level of the city down to the level of the river. The right angle in plan, which points back toward the center of downtown, rises six stories to align with the older buildings across the street. The floors above this level are set back to create a triangular roof terrace at the seventh floor. The main entrance to the building, located at the corner where the curved wall meets the street wall, leads into a small rotunda, through security, and into a grand lobby, with views out toward the river. This double-height space wraps the entry floor and provides for a procession towards the courtrooms, via a bank of elevators, access to the Clerk’s transaction windows; and via a stair which descends along the windows, to the jury assembly space. The lower three levels of the building, below the entry level, house parking, service, and mechanical spaces as well as the jury assembly area and grand jury hearing rooms. Vehicular access to the parking garage, loading dock, and prisoner sallyport is at the lowest level off the service road. From the entry floor though the sixth floor, generic office space houses the tenant agencies. On the seventh floor is a “sky lobby” which serves the cafeteria, auditorium, and public conference rooms.

The majority of the tower floors have two courtroom suites. The public arrives at these floors into a spacious lobby with views back to the city center and Public Square. These floors are organized on the radial, with the core in the middle, flanked on both sides by a courtroom, a secure corridor, and the chambers and jury room on the outside. The two secure corridors are connected by a narrow hallway along the curved facade, providing access from the judges' chamber to their elevator and bringing borrowed light to the courtrooms.

 

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