Harris County Criminal Justice Center in Houston

1201 Franklin, Houston, Texas, Downtown 77002

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This is the largest structure yet completed in the County's "Courthouse Square" project. It's an attempt to relieve the overcrowding at the area's current facilities caused by the explosion in the number of attorneys, lawsuits, police officers, sheriff's deputies, and... well... criminals that come with an increasing population. Good intentions aren't always rewarded, and that's the case with this building. It was open for only a matter of months when Tropical Storm Allison struck in June, 2001 flooding it and shutting down the brand new building for almost a year. It seems that when it was built, all of the critical electrical, telephone, and other equipment was put in the basement. Not a wise move when you consider that the building is just steps away from the notoriously eager waters of Buffalo Bayou. But that wasn't the only design flaw. People unfamiliar with the building tend to be late for court because there aren't enough public elevators. It can take up to 20 minutes to travel just a few flights. That's not to say that there aren't enough elevators. There are plenty. But each judge has his own private elevator for "security" reasons. That's little consolation to those being fined or held in contempt because they were waiting in line for an elevator. To ease make things easier, the stairwells were opened so people could move between floors that way. But that was a violation of the fire code, so the doors were shut once again.

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