Justice Center Complex

The Justice Center Complex is a building complex located in the Civic Center District in Cleveland, Ohio, in the United States. The complex consists of the Cleveland Police Headquarters Building, the Cuyahoga County and Cleveland Municipal Courts Tower, and the Correction Center (Jail I), and Jail II. It occupies a city block bounded by Lakeside Avenue, Ontario Street, West 3rd Street, and St. Clair Avenue. The Lakeside Avenue entrance faces the Cuyahoga County Court House, erected in 1912.About the Justice CenterWhen the Justice Center was proposed in 1969, then-Mayor Carl B. Stokes did not want to be part of the Justice Center project. At the time, the Cleveland Police were at an older headquarters on East 22nd Street. In 1971, voters elected Mayor Ralph Perk, who accepted the police department recommendation to move to the proposed Justice Center. The original cost for the Justice Center was set at $60 million, but infighting between Cuyahoga County and City of Cleveland officials escalated the cost to $128 million. On October 20, 1972, ground was broken for the Justice Center. Construction was complete in 1976.The Courts Tower component, 26 stories high, was designed by Prindle, Patrick and Associates. Jail I was built in 1976, when the rest of the construction of the complex was completed. It had 956 beds, arranged in pods of 23, and each pod was designed to take extensive advantage of natural light. The Courts Tower has been criticized by Steven Litt in The Plain Dealer as menacing, cold, and distracting.