Masterful stonework of local granite in the Romanesque style creates a somber effect in this 1890 institution. The corner tower (which lost its battlements in the 1935 earthquakes), thick stone lintels, and heavy arches recall the romantic nineteenth-century notion that a structure’s appearance should match its function. This unusual and evocative building with its powerful medieval quality was designed by the Helena firm of Paulson and McConnell under contract with the Detroit Safe and Lock Company. It continued to serve as the county jail until the early 1980s.
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