By Lauren Shaw

Mike Esplin remembers sitting at one of the few tables amid the marble pillars, the occasional soda pop between court cases, the blind man who served the court patrons.

Such a scene was presented every time Esplin left the old-style courtroom and descended the circular staircase inside the Historic Utah County Courthouse on the corner of University Avenue and Center Street to visit the snack bar.

"You could go down there, have a Coke ... sit down and hang out between cases," Esplin said.

The snack bar Esplin described has since been replaced by an information booth. But not much else has changed about the courthouse since he worked in the public defender's office there more than 20 years ago, except, of course, that court is no longer conducted there. Still, it remains a prominent symbol of Utah history and is more than just a mark on the registrar's books.

In the Courtroom

Part of the courthouse's historic prominence lay in criminal cases that have been tried within its doors.

One such case was the1976 trial of Gary Gilmore, which changed Utah law and permitted administration of the death penalty. His story became the subject of the 1979 Pulitzer Prize winning "Executioner's Song" by Norman Mailer.

Gilmore attempted suicide three times in prison, Esplin said. After being convicted of committing two random murders successively, he was sentenced to death row.

"He wanted the state to execute him," Esplin said. "He told me, 'life in prison is not life.'"

Ten years later, the courthouse also became home for the trials of Dan and Ron Lafferty, two brothers who murdered their brother's wife and 15-month-old daughter in 1984, claiming a revelation from God directed them to do so.

Esplin said he watched Dan Lafferty stand before a judge in the Utah County Courthouse nearly 24 years ago, calmly cross-examining his brother and partner-in-crime in the face of a murder conviction.

"Dan said, 'it doesn't matter what you do to me,'" Esplin said. "'I'm subject to man's laws, but God's laws trump man's laws.'"

Much controversy and conjecture regarding the competency of the Laffertys went on before sentencing. But the Lafferty trial, which shook Utah County, began to be resolved within the wood-encompassed south courtroom of the Utah County Courthouse.

Back in Time

The Gilmore and Lafferty cases only added to the courthouse's long history, beginning before its completion.

In July 1919, architect Joseph Nelson and a small group of county and city officials went on a tour of the west coast, according to an article by HBLL Special Collections Chair Brad Westwood. The group traveled to California, Washington and Oregon by train to find inspiration for the design of a city and county building.

They found what they were looking for in Woodland, Calif.

The Yolo County Courthouse became Nelson's guide, and so did the Erectheum, a structure from the Greek high classical period, according to Westwood's article.

With nearly $580,000 from both city and county funds, the Greek neo-classical building was completed in 1926, according to the Utah County Web site.

Westwood said the courthouse then became part of a powerful city center that included the Provo Tabernacle and various commercial buildings to the north.

"It was kind of this balance - all [of the buildings] converging together," Westwood said. "It's a very symbolic kind of power city center for Provo."

The symbolism didn't stop there. Representations of Utah agriculture and pioneer heritage had been carved into the soft, oolitic limestone walls, according to the book "Biography of Joseph Nelson, Architect."

The building stood as an expression of community pride and faith, Westwood wrote.

"It's really been one of Provo's most prominent buildings," he said.

Throughout the years, some attempts have been made to remodel the courthouse. At one point, post-modern, garish colors adorned the inside, Westwood said.

But the limestone, beautiful oak woodwork and marble floors haven't allowed any type of structural remodeling to take place. And it's a blessing, Westwood said.

Restoring the Landmark

Remodeling may not have been an issue concerning the courthouse over time, but restoration has been.

"Sometimes you think you build a stone building and it'll stand forever," said Don Nay, associate public works director for Utah County.

The county began various restoration projects in the 1970s, mostly consisting of mechanical systems improvements. Also. the worn balustrade was replaced and stained glass skylights were added at that time, Nay said.

However, a more intensive effort to restore the crumbling limestone walls began five years ago, Nay said. Each stone was inspected and photographed, then catalogued in a three-inch binder.

That was only the beginning, and it's an ongoing process.

"It's a multi-phase, multi-year project to get it back to a maintainable state," he said.

As it is now

A flag plaza, completed in 2007, proudly bears the patriotic symbols of the U.S., Utah and Utah County where a fountain formerly existed.

Wedding receptions, various county and city meetings and other special events are conducted on a weekly basis in the very room where criminals once stood trial.

The offices inside, which used to house the courts and officials from Provo city and Utah County, currently provide rental offices for organizations and people like Utah State Sens. Orrin G. Hatch and Robert F. Bennett.

Copyright Brigham Young University 30 Apr 2008