The “New” Nassau County Courthouse complex on Old Country Road has been the centerpiece of Nassau County’s judicial system since 1940. It is one of Long Island’s outstanding examples of large-scale civic architecture, and in 2021 was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
The history of the Nassau County Courthouse Complex is the subject of a in-person and virtual program to be jointly presented by the Nassau County Historical Society and the Jericho Public Library on Sunday, April 7, beginning at 2 pm.
The speaker, Daniel Looney, has been a prosecutor for more than 42 years and has worked in the Nassau County courthouse since 1987. He is currently a Deputy Executive Assistant District Attorney in the Litigation Division.
His avocation is historic preservation and he has been involved in several local restoration projects. He was responsible for securing the nomination of the courthouse to the National Register.
Looney will begin by providing an overview, not only of the varied courthouse architectural styles dating to colonial times, but also of the cases that were tried in these courthouses.
He will explain why the current complex was referred to as the Nassau County Civic Center and how the roots of the court complex design can be traced to the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago and the Lincoln Memorial.
Finally, the courthouse has witnessed some of Long Island’s most sensational trials and Looney will provide an overview of a number of the well-known cases prosecuted in this “newest” criminal courthouse.
Register for the virtual webinar on www.JerichoLibrary.org (under Events, Program Registration). The Jericho Library is at 1 Merry Lane, Jericho 11753, just south of Route 25 (Jericho Turnpike) and east of Routes 106/107.
See the Historical Society’s website, www.NassauCountyHistoricalSociety.org, for additional information on the program which is free, both in-person and virtually. Refreshments will follow the program at the library.
Photos, from above: The 1940 Nassau County Courthouse; and the Courthouse’s interior atrium (both courtesy Daniel Looney).
