Los Ángeles County, by virtue of it being the largest county in the US in terms of population, containing 88 incorporated municipalities as well as dozens of unincorporated communities, and the fact that its land area is well over 4,000 square miles, has a BOATLOAD of courthouses scattered throughout the County, at least 40 or something:
http://www.lasuperiorcourt.org/locat...istbyname.aspx
I also read somewhere that as a result of LA County's huge population, its courts are the busiest in the US. I realize that even New York City, as huge as it is, is technically divided up among 5 counties.
Most of these LA County court buildings are non-distinctive, in my opinion. Some are great examples of mid-20th Century Modernism, and some are quite striking contemporary designs, like the new courthouse that opened in Long Beach.
In my opinion, some of these courthouses are notable for which celebrity or what notorious person was tried there; the Beverly Hills Courthouse and the Criminal Justice Center in downtown LA have seen some very notable trials in terms of celebrities; the Menendez Brothers trial (the Beverly Hills brothers who murdered their parents and were convicted in the 1990s) took place in Van Nuys.
Charles Manson was tried in a building that no longer houses courts; in fact, the Hall of Justice in downtown LA, built in 1925, has been vacant since 1994 because of the Northridge Earthquake. It is currently being restored and seismically strengthened, and will reopen as the headquarters for the LA County Sheriff's Department, as well as contain other County offices.
Here's a picture of the Hall of Justice from some years ago, when it was shuttered up, awaiting restoration. Behind it to the right is the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center.
kellydessaint.blogspot.com
Here's the old Richardsonian Romanesque LA County Courthouse circa 1900, which was in use from 1891 until 1932, after which it was immediately demolished.
Los Ángeles DWP photo collection
Here it is some time in the 1920s, sandwiched between the then-new Hall of Justice and the Hall of Records, a building that was built in the 1910s and was demolished in the early 1970s. The Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center now occupies the site of the old 1890s-era LA County Courthouse. I can see how the style of architecture of the old courthouse would've been considered very antiquated by the 1920s. And of course the Deco-ish City Hall that was to open in 1928 would make the Hall of Justice from just a few years earlier look totally dated too.
martinturnbull.com
This is not a county courthouse, but I think the LA Federal Courthouse building is a good example of typical WPA architecture; and in my opinion, of the existing courthouses in LA, this actually looks like the quintessential courthouse.
wpainla.blogspot.com
Incidentally, this courthouse is considered overcrowded and horribly outdated in terms of how courts now function. The federal courts in downtown LA are actually housed in this building and another building, the Edward Roybal Federal Building, a structure that was completed in the early 1990s. A new federal courthouse is now under construction. Once the new building is completed, the WPA-era courthouse will be vacated. I don't know what will become of it.