Media Advisory

PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE
SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT
John Adams Courthouse
One Pemberton Square
Boston , MA 02108

CONTACT: Joan Kenney/Charlotte Whiting 617/557-1114 joan.kenney@sjc.state.ma.us FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 13, 2005 NEWBURYPORT SUPERIOR COURT COURTHOUSE MARKS 200 YEARS; OLDEST, OPERATING COURTHOUSE IN THE NATION What: A 200th anniversary celebration of the historic Newburyport Superior Court Courthouse will be held with court leaders, state and local officials, members of the public and invited guests. Originally designed by Charles Bulfinch, the stately, brick courthouse opened in 1805 and is the oldest, regularly operating courthouse in the United States. Legal luminaries, such as John Quincy Adams, Daniel Webster, Rufus Choate and Caleb Cushing, argued cases in the courthouse, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. When: Friday, September 16, 2005 12:00 Noon 3:00 p.m. – Public Open House Where: High Street, Newburyport Speakers: Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Margaret H. Marshall Chief Justice for Administration and Management Robert A. Mulligan Superior Court Chief Justice Barbara J. Rouse Newburyport Superior Court Judge Richard E. Welch III Division of Capital Asset Management Commissioner David B. Perini