Address: 11th, 12th, Market & Chestnut Construction Date: 1930 Architect: Plaza Comission Inc.
CIVIL COURTS BUILDING
The Civil Courts Building housed the Civil, Circuit, Probate, and Appeal Courts
during the 1950s. Lawsuits covered a wide range of issues, but few were more controversial
or more significant than those pertaining to civil rights. With legal counsel
provided by the NAACP, African Americans in St. Louis and elsewhere challenged
the constitutionality of racial segregation in schools, housing, and public accommodations.
Nationally, the most important legal victory for the civil rights movement came
in 1954 when the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its ruling in the case, Brown
v. the Board of Education.
