Lake County
Removed for a project, commemorative bricks returned to courthouse
“We are looking to create a patio area on the front lawn that we can use for wedding ceremonies or other small events,” said Carrie Napoleon, managing director of the Lake Court House Foundation.
There was a substantial number of commemorative bricks removed during city’s recent sidewalk project to make the downtown square ADA compliant and safer crossing the streets.
Those bricks were saved and are currently stored on pallets at public works along with the plain bricks.
Napoleon said she did not know the exact number of bricks, but there were more than 200 around the courthouse alone.
“People are very attached to their bricks and were very upset when they were replaced with the stamped concrete,” she said. “Both the city and the Foundation have received calls from people concerned about the fate of their bricks. While people are not crazy about the sidewalks and bumpouts, they where necessary to bring the city up to ADA compliance and to make crossing the square safer.”
The commemorative bricks originally were a fundraiser by the former Crown Point Chamber and the city. Napoleon said while there was no mention on the original order forms that the bricks would be in place forever, it was kind of the original selling point.
When the chamber moved to Merrillville, they passed the commemorative bricks to the Lake Court House Foundation.
“We have maintained the records and continue to sell bricks,” Napoleon said. “We still sell the bricks and currently have a few locations on the grounds where the bricks can be placed. Often people who are wed at the Courthouse like to have a brick.”
The commemorative bricks will be placed in that new patio area, along with plain bricks. The patio will be designed to complement the courthouse and will include some landscaping and a walkway to ensure the patio is handicap accessible.
People may also request their bricks be returned.
“If anybody would like their brick instead of having it placed on the Courthouse grounds, they need to contact the office with the name of the original purchaser and what was engraved on the brick,” Napoleon said. “As the patio is constructed, we will pull the bricks people request to have returned and notify them when we come across it, and then they can come to the office and pick them up.”
Napoleon said they are asking people to be patient.
“There is no way for anyone to get their brick prior to the start of installation,” she said. “We cannot go through the pallets looking for individual bricks.”
Napoleon said if anybody would like to purchase a brick, they may contact the office and place an order and their brick can become part of the new patio.
During Monday’s Redevelopment Commission meeting, Mayor David Uran said the bricks will have a new lease on life and be part of the continuation of the Courthouse Marriage Mill tradition that started in 1910.
During the Marriage Mill heyday, people from around the country flocked to the Old Lake Court House for the ability to marry 24 hours a day, seven days a week. During the height of the Marriage Mill between 1915 and 1940, more than 174,000 couples received their marriage licenses at the Courthouse.
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