The courthouse lobby was a busy spot Friday afternoon.
On this day, the verdict was in.
It was time for a celebration.
Dozens of legal officials and members of the public gathered to recognize the 30 year anniversary of the North Bay Courthouse.
“Thirty years is a significant milestone but it is not just about the bricks and mortar in the building it is more about the people in it,” said Russell Wood, Crown Attorney of the District of Nipissing.
“It is an appropriate time to recognize those individuals past and present who have dedicated a good chunk of their time and their life towards the administration of justice in the community of North Bay.”
But the judicial history of this site goes back much further than 1989.
Nestor Prisco started as Nipissing’s Sheriff back in 1974.
He says the original courthouse was built on this site way back in the late 1880’s.
“The needs of the community outgrew that building, it only had one courtroom within it, a very small chamber for judges so simply the community needed something more significant and that eventually resulted in this modern facility that we are in today,” said Prisco, noting the location is considered a local heritage site.
“The courtroom was originally built as a courtroom and lock-up because the courtroom was all jail on the first floor and it was a jail until 1930. So the courtroom was really an auditorium and it did everything in North Bay. It had band concerts, every political meeting into the 1940’s was held in the courthouse so it has a long history.”
While some of the recent upgrades include free WIFI now publicly available in the building, this celebration led to another connection to the past.
Now when visitors enter the building from the Plouffe Street entrance they will see a vintage courthouse sign from the original building.
“They installed the former courthouse sign just overhead as you enter the facility and that sign dates back to the early 1900’s so it is kind of connecting the past with our current situation,” said Wood.
Also, as part of the celebration local artist Jack Lockhart unveiled a new painting of the courthouse.
