The courthouse was built in the Romanesque Revival architectural style with red sandstone and pink granite, and its design includes a number of unusual features, such as a double-helix staircase, a clockless tower, and entrances that are located on its northwest and southwest corners, instead of on its sides.

[4][5] It also features an unusual double-helix staircase with cast-iron stairs as well as marble wainscoting, masonry interiors, oak woodwork, and stone and tile flooring.

[2] The building was constructed with a clockless tower because, as one of the town's early leaders declared, "[i]f you get up when the sun rises and go to bed when it sets, you don't need a clock.

[2] By the turn of the 21st century, years of wear and exposure to the elements had caused deterioration of the building's sandstone and windows as well as a persistent problem with groundwater infiltration.

[4] Other major problems afflicting the building included rotting window casings, a roof turret in danger of collapse, overloaded wiring, lack of an elevator, and the general sense that the entire courthouse was a fire hazard.

[2] Completed in December 2002, the restoration refurbished both the interior and the exterior of the building, upgraded its systems, and brought it into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).