3. RESTORATION OF THE ORIGINAL WING OF THE COURTHOUSE, 1967
[161] Other members of the Special Committee were Edward D. Gasson, James Keith, John T. Hazel, Jr.; W. Franklin Gooding, Assistant Clerk of the Courts; Senior Circuit Judge Paul E. Brown; and Bayard Evans, Chairman of the Fairfax Historical Landmarks Preservation Commission.
[162] The cost of restoration was originally estimated at $74,488, exclusive of architect's fee, which was to be 12 per cent of the total cost. Ultimately, the cost of the work was slightly in excess of $84,500, including the architect's fee, according to the architect's records; Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Minute Book #45, pp. 192, 301, 406; Cost Sheet, Walter M. Macomber.
[163] The building contractor for this work was E. L. Daniels.
[164] Interview with Thomas Chapman, former Clerk of the Circuit Court.
[165] The frieze was disregarded because it was not considered part of the original courtroom interior, and no drawings, photographs or descriptions of it were preserved.
[166] The sloping floor which was replaced was not dated, but probably was installed when the courthouse was renovated following the Civil War.
[167] On this matter the following statement in the Northern Virginia Sun, January 8, 1966, 1, is of interest: "Anyone familiar with the old courthouse will have noticed that it has five chimneys. The two closest to the bench are resting on wood above the ceiling, Macomber discovered. This, he said 'confused' him. He thinks that they probably were connected by long pipes to stoves in the courtroom. Yet he is not sure. It appears to Macomber that they were added at some later time, but he will not know until he examines them more closely during the restoration. If ... [there] are post-1800 andirons [in these fireplaces], out they will go in the restoration."
In an interview on March 2, 1970, however, Macomber stated he felt that these chimneys had been connected to stoves after the fireplaces which they served were blocked up.
[168] The architect expressed the opinion that the addition to the west end of the courthouse dated from about 1900; Northern Virginia Sun, January 8, 1966, 1. However, no documentary evidence from the county records supports this date; Fairfax County Free Press, August 25, 1966.