I walked along Main Street in Canandaigua and took a few pictures of the Ontario County Courthouse. This magnificent building date’s back to 1857-1858 when it was first constructed and then extensively rebuilt in 1908-1909. Restoration work was begun in 1981 and completed in March of 1988.
The streets around the Courthouse and the offices in the Courthouse were mostly deserted due to the President’s Day Holiday. The present building is impressive as the dome with its statue of “justice” stands out as a landmark when one drives into Canandaigua from the east along routes 5 and 20.
In 1856, County officials obtained a $12,000 Federal appropriation in return for providing a Federal courtroom and post office in the new building. And so construction of the new building began shortly afterward. Today, all of the States and local governments are clamoring for Federal funds. One has to wonder what our county or more precisely, the Finger Lakes, would look like if there were no Federal funds released for such projects? Now that’s an interesting question!
James R. Bupp