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The main office of the New Jersey law
firm of LoFaro & Reiser is located in Bergen County, adjacent to the
Hackensack Court House. The firm's attorneys regularly appear
before the Superior Court of New Jersey in Bergen County and
municipal courts located throughout Bergen County in a variety of
matters including complex commercial litigation, criminal & DWI,
foreclosure, contested estate & probate matters, foreclosure,
landlord-tenant proceedings, and motor vehicle and traffic offenses.
Contact
a Bergen County New
Jersey attorney today.
History of Bergen
County Courthouse
 Bergen County's first courthouse was both
a jail and a courthouse. It was located in what was then known as
Quacksack.
The second
courthouse Bergen County had was burned by the British during the
American Revolution. By 1780 the third Bergen County Courthouse was
built at the Ponds in Oakland.
1786 heralded
the return of the courthouse to Hackensack. This fourth courthouse
was located "about 100 feet off of Main Street" on what is now
Bridge Street.
In 1819, the
fifth courthouse was built. Located exactly where today’s Bergen
County Justice Center stands, it was built on land deeded to the
county by Attorney Robert Campbell.
The fifth
courthouse served the people for 91 years before construction on the
sixth courthouse (currently the Rotunda building) began.
Simultaneous construction of the courthouse and the jail began on
July 6, 1910, when the cornerstone was laid. James Rielly Gordon was
the architect of both buildings.
Today, the Bergen County Justice Center is
home to the Superior Court of Bergen County, Prosecutor, Sheriff and
Surrogate. It consists of three attached buildings (not
counting the jail and Sheriff's office): the Rotunda, the
Administration Building and the new court annex. Construction of the
Rotunda was completed in 1912, while the Administration Building was
added some twenty years later. The Rotunda is on the register of
National Historic landmarks, which means that it can never be
altered or torn down. Anyone looking at the marble and ornate
stained glass in the Rotunda dome can understand the value of
preserving the beauty of the building. There are several courtrooms
in the Rotunda with hand painted murals adorning the walls. The
distinct look of the Rotunda even caught the attention of Hollywood.
Key scenes from the movies "Hackers", "The Devil's Advocate" and
"Before and After" were filmed in Rotunda courtrooms.
The Justice Center is not the only piece
of history in the immediate area. One of George Washington's
generals is buried across the street from the Rotunda in the First
Reformed Church of Hackensack cemetery.
It is said that George Washington himself attended the funeral. |
