ORIGINAL WING OF THE COURTHOUSE, 1967

_Origin of the Restoration Project._ After the second addition to the
courthouse was completed in 1954, the old courtroom in the original
wing of the building ceased to be the focal point of the court's
activity. Similarly, it ceased to receive the attention needed to deal
with the natural deterioration produced by use and the passage of
time. By the early 1960's these effects were evidenced by leaking
roofs, unreliable plumbing in the heating system, cracked and
crumbling plaster, loosened floors and hardware, and the like. In
order to retain its usefulness, the original wing of the courthouse
needed substantial renovation.

At this time, an interest in the old courtroom was expressed by the
Fairfax County Bar Association and the county's newly formed
Historical Landmarks Preservation Commission which together proposed
that the work of renovation be done in such a way as to restore the
original appearance of the courtroom. The Bar Association formed a
Special Committee for Restoration of the Old Court Room under the
chairmanship of C. Douglas Adams, Jr., and the assistance of the Board
of Supervisors was sought.[161]

In December 1964, the Board appropriated funds for developing a
restoration plan. Walter Macomber, a local restoration architect who
had done similar work on a number of early Virginia landmarks, was
retained to prepare the necessary plans. In March 1966, the Bar
Association's Committee reported the completion of this preliminary
work to the Board, and successfully secured the latter's approval
together with an appropriation of $90,000 for actual construction
work. This work was commenced without further delay and was completed
in the spring of 1967.[162]

_Problems of the Restoration._ While the work undertaken in 1965 and
1966 was at the time referred to as a restoration, it was in fact
impossible under the circumstances to reproduce with complete accuracy
the appearance of the courthouse in 1800. No descriptions of the
courtroom or other records of building specifications had been found;
nor was any special research in eighteenth century sources undertaken
for this purpose. As a result, the work produced a courtroom with
idealized colonial-period interior design and furnishings in a
building shell with reconstructed floor plan and structural design of
the early Federal-period (during which it had initially been built).
Numerous difficult problems were faced