Construction of the Lucas County Courthouse began with laying the original cornerstone on September 3, 1894, and was completed in 1896. The courthouse is a large, steel-framed building with an exterior of Berea sandstone. It was modeled after the courthouse at Buffalo, New York. The architect for the building was David L. Stine and the contractors were Dun, Perley & Co. Stine, who also designed the Libbey Glass Company Pavilion for the Chicago World’s Fair.

The Lucas County Courthouse is an excellent example of late nineteenth-century public architecture. On a six-acre plot, surrounded by grass and radiating sidewalks, the site is typical of courthouse squares throughout the United States. It is a vital focal point in the urban center of Toledo.

The courthouse consists of a large central block with two dependent wings. The east and west wings have projecting pavilions, making the main facade E-shaped. The entrance facade of the central portion has three Roman arches with a colonnade of double Corinthian columns above which there is a pediment. The building is topped by a low Roman dome with a slender peristyle of doric columns. The wings are topped by a cornice and Balustrade with urns at the corners. The stonework of the basement and first story is rusticated. Rectangular windows are in each wing’s basement, 2nd, and 3rd stories. The 1st story windows are arched with stone voussoirs.

The interior contains corridors finely finished with Italian marble and originally contained mosaic floors that were later refinished with terrazzo. Until recently, the interior of this historic building has been undergoing refurbishment.

Although Toledo was the first county seat of Lucas County, the seat was moved to Maumee from 1840-1852. In 1852, the seat was moved back to Toledo with the provision that a proper courthouse and jail be built. For two years, the county leased the Duell Block and, in late 1853, moved into a courthouse built on the corner of Erie and Adams Streets. This Building was torn down in 1897 after the present building, which adjoined it, was dedicated on January 1, 1897.

The current Courthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.