Justice Center Complex (Cleveland, Ohio)

The Justice Center Complex is a building complex located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio that opened in 1976. It consists of the Cleveland Police Headquarters Building, the Cuyahoga County and Cleveland Municipal Courts Tower, and the Correction Center. It occupies a city block bounded by Lakeside Avenue, Ontario Street, West 3rd Street, and St. Clair Avenue. The Lakeside Avenue entrance faces the Cuyahoga County Court House, erected in 1912.



When the Justice Center was proposed in 1969, then-Mayor Carl B. Stokes did not want to be part of the Justice Center project. At the time, the Cleveland Police were at an older headquarters on East 22nd Street. In 1971, voters elected Mayor Ralph Perk, who accepted the police department recommendation to move to the proposed Justice Center. The original cost for the Justice Center was set at $60 million, but infighting between Cuyahoga County and City of Cleveland officials escalated the cost from $60 million dollars to $128 million dollars. On October 20, 1972 ground was broken for the Justice Center.

The Courts Tower was designed by Prindle, Patrick and Partners. The Brutalist 26-story structure stands 420 ft (128 m) high and contains 44 court rooms and 9 hearing rooms, which are divided between Cleveland Municipal and Cuyahoga County Common Pleas courts. Located south of the Courts Tower is Cleveland's Police Headquarters Building. The Police Headquarters, designed by Richard L. Bowen and Associates serves the...
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