The Durham County Judicial Building, occupying the block between Main, Roxboro, Parrish and Church streets, replaced a block of commercial buildings and motion-picture theaters during the downtown urban renewal of the 1970s.

Meant to house the court and district-attorney functions previously housed in the 1916 Courthouse across Main Street, the Judicial Building was plagued by construction delays. Members of the Durham bar association complained, even before it opened, that it was inadequate for the county's needs -- a complaint that, proved to be well-founded.

The building opened in 1978, a year behind schedule. Soon afterward, a deputy sheriff found himself trapped in a faulty elevator, the first instance of a problem that continues to the present day. After years of inadequate security and overcrowding, Durham County broke ground for a new Justice Center, on Dillard Street, in 2010.