[1] It is one of the city's finest examples of Beaux Arts architecture, with a particularly elaborate central atrium, and was the site of Griswold v. Connecticut, a historic court case involving women's right to birth control.

Its principal mass is basically rectangular, with projecting sections of differing depths on each side.

[2] The building's exterior underwent a $10.5 million renovation project, with work beginning in January 2013.

[3] Significant court cases tried at the courthouse include Griswold v. Connecticut, which ensured that married women could have access to birth control methods and information, and the trial of Black Panther Bobby Seale.

[3] Unobtrusive netting is installed across the tympanum to prevent hawks from nesting there, as the birds have done in the past.