Colorado State Capitol Virtual Tour

Old Supreme Court Chambers

For eighty-five years, the most important court and judges in Colorado used this room. When the Supreme Court had a new building constructed in 1977, the Supreme Court Chambers became a legislative hearing room. Before the room was assigned its new role, the firm of Pahl-Pahl-Pahl restored the room's woodwork, marble, carved plaster ceilings, and one ton chandelier. Maroon drapes are the dramatic background for a marble bust of Colorado's First Chief Justice, Henry C. Thatcher. The Judges had discrete panels in the bench that held pitchers of ice water, and they were also equipped with upholstered footstools. The original stained glass portrait of Chief Justice Robert W. Steele was removed in 1980 to make room for seven prominent Colorado leaders immortalized in the "Heritage Windows." Four ethnic groups (Hispanics, Native Americans, Blacks, and Chinese/Japanese) are represented in these windows and honor their contributions to the state's development.

Captain Don Bernardo Pacheco
Chief Jack House
Chief Ouray
Clara Brown
Chin Lin Sou
Naoichi "Harry" Hokazono

Another influential Coloradan, Emily Griffith, has a stained glass window dedicated to her outside the Supreme Court Chambers.

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last modified May 19, 2005