oration. No lathwork was found on the side walls, and
in the reconstruction fresh plaster was applied directly to the
bricks.[165]

[Illustration: Interior of the gutted courthouse during restoration in
1966. Photo by Lee Hubbard.]

The flooring which was removed from the central section of the
courtroom sloped from the back (east end) of the room toward the
judge's bench (at the west end). Beneath this floor was an older floor
of brick. It was not determined whether this brick work had been the
original floor of the courtroom or whether another wooden floor had
overlaid it prior to the one just removed. In its reconstruction,
however, the architect specified that a flat floor of polished pine
should be laid over the bricks.[166]

In one part of the main floor the older brick work was allowed to
remain exposed. This was in the vicinity of the fireplaces in the two
corners of the open area at the rear (east end) of the courtroom.
These two fireplaces were reopened and restored and their brickwork
was extended to form spacious hearthstones.

The corner fireplaces showed signs of a three-stage evolution. They
were originally used as open fireplaces. Holes in the brickwork above
them suggested, however, that at some later time the open fireplaces
were replaced by wood-burning or coal-burning stoves standing on the
brick hearths with their stovepipes fitted into the chimneys. Finally,
when the stoves were replaced by central heating and hot water
radiators, the entire fireplace wall was sealed with brick and
plastered over. In their restoration the corner fireplaces were
reopened and refurbished as they were thought to have appeared in
their original condition.

As the side walls were cleared of plaster, they showed signs of
staircases from the ground level the balcony along the north as well
as the south side of the courtroom. Thus when the stairs along the
south wall were replaced, a similar set of stairs was built and
installed on the north side of the courtroom. No dates for the
original installation or removal of these staircases were determined,
and it was presumed that the dual staircases were part of the original
design of the courthouse.

A more difficult puzzle was presented by a series of holes in the
outer wall aligned at the level of the balcony and about the size used
for beams. Speculation by the architect suggested that these holes
might have been intended for use in extending the balcony along three