Monroe County Office Building

A. Friederich & Sons Co. built this beautiful government building in 1894, and later cleaned and repointed the entire facade in the mid-1960s. Originally built as the Monroe County Court House, it replaced the previous Court House at the same location. It became the County Office Building in 1964 after the court had moved to the new Hall of Justice in the Civic Center. One of the first area buildings of Italian Renaissance architecture, the facade is made of light-gray New Hampshire granite. According to company records, it is believed to be the first building in Rochester for which Portland cement was used. An employee at the time said, “we measured it almost by the teaspoon because it was so expensive and hard to get.” The interior central atrium features Italian marble walls and columns that rise four floors to the main skylight 100 feet above.