The metal detector at the front door, through which the public and nearly every court employee must pass, counted 201,516 trips through the machine last year. Nearly three years after the dedication of the courthouse, several retailers close to the North Main Street building report their business is up, and a lawyer is rehabilitating a nearby building for professional offices. The courthouse has not proved to be the solution to all of downtown's problems. Vacant storefronts still gather dust along Washington and North Main streets, the urban arteries that are the heart of the old central business district.
Opinions vary on the impact of the courthouse.
Kathy Chappell, owner of the Downtowner II restaurant, says her trade is so dependent on the court traffic she doesn't bother opening on court holidays. Judges, lawyers and others with courthouse business have increased his foot traffic by 35 percent, he says. But other retailers, such as Barr Bros. Jewelers Manager Margaret Holland and Super Drug owner Yuen Wong, say the courthouse crowd largely passes them by. Downtown Business Association Chairman Andy Damiani notes the central downtown business base has declined over the decades. He sees little evidence the courthouse has had an impact.