A patchwork of brick and mortar Dallas County Records Complex is three buildings in one and home to some of Dallas’ rich history

The Dallas County Records Complex is a patchwork of three buildings: the Criminal Courts Building, the Records Building and the Records Building Annex. As Dallas County grew, the buildings provided space for offices, jail cells, courtrooms and record storage. Together, they include about 323,000 square feet.

The oldest building is the Criminal Courts Building, completed in 1915. In addition to courtrooms, the red brick, gray terracotta and granite building housed the Sheriff’s Department and a jail. Bars for the jail cells were placed on the inside of windows to make them less visible from the street. The Records Building (once known as the Hall of Records), opened in 1928. It included a rotunda and a meeting room for the Dallas County Commissioners Court. The Records Annex was added in 1955.

Today, the complex is overshadowed by its more famous neighbors, the Old Red Courthouse and the Dallas County Administration Building (the former Texas School Book Depository). It shows its age. Rats have chewed through wiring. Marble wall panels are coming unglued. The heating and air-conditioning are failing.

Dallas County officials are trying to decide what to do with the buildings, which do have a rich history. Jack Ruby was tried there. Clyde Barrow, Pretty Boy Floyd and Billie Sol Estes were locked up there. Inside the old jail (no longer in use) are gallows where condemned prisoners were hanged.