1998, J. A. Gibson and Associates. Pine St. at Carroll St.
The monumental three-part Governmental Center is located at the focal point of a huge semicircular landscaped parking lot, reflecting the importance of automobile access and markedly different from the narrow streets and limited parking of the older courthouse precinct (CA1). The building's facade references traditional courthouse architecture in the use of dark-red brick walls and a four-columned pedimented entrance portico. But the grandiose portico with its extremely attenuated columns and a massive entablature that cuts the facade vertically appear out of balance. The portico opens only to a narrow circulation corridor and elevator lobby, rather than an important and impressive civic space.