This 18-by-46-inch horizontal panorama documents the Cuyahoga County Courthouse in Cleveland—the Beaux-Arts landmark that has served as the county’s judicial center since 1912. The nearly four-foot width captures the courthouse’s classical facade and civic presence within Cleveland’s downtown governmental complex.

Created in 1986, the work represents early documentation of Cleveland’s architectural heritage, the “No. 2” designation indicating multiple studies of this significant building. The courthouse’s Beaux-Arts design—grand stairways, ornate interiors, and classical proportions—reflected early twentieth-century beliefs that public buildings should inspire civic pride through architectural grandeur.

The horizontal format emphasizes the courthouse’s facade, the composition capturing the building’s presence along the Mall that Cleveland designed as its civic center. The courthouse forms part of a coordinated complex including City Hall and other governmental buildings, the ensemble representing Progressive Era urban planning ideals.

The photo collage technique fragments the courthouse’s classical symmetry while revealing details that straightforward architectural photography might subordinate to overall composition. The assembled panorama documents both the building’s formal design and the textures that decades of use have created.

The Cuyahoga County Courthouse continues serving its judicial function, the building’s preservation reflecting Cleveland’s commitment to maintaining its architectural heritage. This panorama documents the courthouse during Hayashi’s early Cleveland work, establishing the civic documentation that would complement her industrial and post-industrial subjects.