Milam County Historical Commission
Milam County, Texas
Milam County, Texas
Courthouses topic for library program
Rockdale Reporter - 2015-09-24
Brantley Hightower, author of “The Courthouses of Central Texas” will give a presentation at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 1, at the Lucy Hill Patterson Memorial Library, according to Librarian Melanie Todd.
Hightower is an architect, writer, and educator and founder of HiWorks, an architecture firm in San Antonio.
He has taught at the University of Texas at Arlington, Texas Tech University, Trinity University, and the University of Texas at Austin. He also contributes regularly to “Texas Architect” magazine and is the host of The Works, a podcast about architecture.
Hightower notes the county courthouse has long held a central place on the Texas landscape — literally, as the center of the town in which it is located, and figuratively, as the symbol of governmental authority.
As a county’s most important public building, the courthouse makes an architectural statement about a community.
He said study of county courthouses tells a compelling story about how society’s relationships with public buildings and government have radically changed over the course of time, as well as how architectural tastes have evolved through the decades.
A first of its kind, “The Courthouses of Central Texas” offers an in-depth, comparative architectural survey of 50 county courthouses, which serve as a representative sample of larger trends.
Each is represented by a description, construction and architectural information, along with a historical photograph, a site plan of its orientation and courthouse square, and two-and sometimes three-dimensional drawings of its facade with modifications over time.
Side-by-side drawings and plans also facilitate comparisons between courthouses. These consistently scaled and formatted architectural drawings, which Hightower spent years creating, allow for direct comparisons in ways never before possible.
He also explains the courthouses’ formal development by placing them in their historical and social context, which illuminates the power and importance of these structures in the history of Texas.
.
Rockdale Reporter - 2015-09-24
Brantley Hightower, author of “The Courthouses of Central Texas” will give a presentation at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 1, at the Lucy Hill Patterson Memorial Library, according to Librarian Melanie Todd.
Hightower is an architect, writer, and educator and founder of HiWorks, an architecture firm in San Antonio.
He has taught at the University of Texas at Arlington, Texas Tech University, Trinity University, and the University of Texas at Austin. He also contributes regularly to “Texas Architect” magazine and is the host of The Works, a podcast about architecture.
Hightower notes the county courthouse has long held a central place on the Texas landscape — literally, as the center of the town in which it is located, and figuratively, as the symbol of governmental authority.
As a county’s most important public building, the courthouse makes an architectural statement about a community.
He said study of county courthouses tells a compelling story about how society’s relationships with public buildings and government have radically changed over the course of time, as well as how architectural tastes have evolved through the decades.
A first of its kind, “The Courthouses of Central Texas” offers an in-depth, comparative architectural survey of 50 county courthouses, which serve as a representative sample of larger trends.
Each is represented by a description, construction and architectural information, along with a historical photograph, a site plan of its orientation and courthouse square, and two-and sometimes three-dimensional drawings of its facade with modifications over time.
Side-by-side drawings and plans also facilitate comparisons between courthouses. These consistently scaled and formatted architectural drawings, which Hightower spent years creating, allow for direct comparisons in ways never before possible.
He also explains the courthouses’ formal development by placing them in their historical and social context, which illuminates the power and importance of these structures in the history of Texas.
.
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