Opinion ID: 787961
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Description of the Allegheny Plaque

Text: 26 The Allegheny County Courthouse occupies a full city block in downtown Pittsburgh. It borders on four main roads (Grant Street, Fifth Avenue, Ross Street, and Forbes Avenue), and is built around an interior courtyard. The Courthouse complex was designed by world-renowned architect Henry Hobson Richardson and was completed in 1888. In 1968, the Pittsburgh History and Landmark Foundation designated the Courthouse an historical landmark. On March 7, 1973, it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places, and on May 11, 1976, it was named a National Historical Landmark. 27 The Plaque, a bronze tablet entitled THE COMMANDMENTS, is four feet high by three feet wide. It displays the text of the Ten Commandments, largely from the King James version of Exodus and Deuteronomy. It reads: 28 THOU SHALT HAVE NO OTHER GODS BEFORE ME. 29 THOU SHALT NOT MAKE UNTO THEE ANY GRAVEN IMAGE, OR ANY LIKENESS OF ANY THING THAT IS IN HEAVEN ABOVE, OR THAT IS IN THE EARTH BENEATH, OR THAT IS IN THE WATER UNDER THE EARTH: THOUGH SHALT NOT BOW DOWN THYSELF TO THEM, NOR SERVE THEM: 30 FOR I THE LORD THY GOD AM A JEALOUS GOD, VISITING THE INIQUITY OF THE FATHERS UPON THE CHILDREN UNTO THE THIRD AND FOURTH GENERATION OF THEM THAT HATE ME; AND SHEWING MERCY UNTO THOUSANDS OF THEM THAT LOVE ME, AND KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS. 31 THOU SHALT NOT TAKE THE NAME OF THE LORD THY GOD IN VAIN: 32 FOR THE LORD WILL NOT HOLD HIM GUILTLESS THAT TAKETH HIS NAME IN VAIN. 33 REMEMBER THE SABBATH DAY, TO KEEP IT HOLY. SIX DAYS SHALT THOU LABOR AND DO ALL THY WORK: BUT THE SEVENTH DAY IS THE SABBATH OF THE LORD THY GOD: IN IT THOU SHALT NOT DO ANY WORK, THOU, NOR THY SON, NOR THY DAUGHTER, THY MANSERVANT, NOR THY MAIDSERVANT, NOR THY CATTLE, NOR THY STRANGER THAT IS WITHIN THY GATES: 34 FOR IN SIX DAYS THE LORD MADE HEAVEN AND EARTH, THE SEA, AND ALL THAT IN THEM IS, AND RESTED THE SEVENTH DAY: WHEREFORE THE LORD BLESSED THE SABBATH DAY, AND HALLOWED IT. HONOR THY FATHER AND THY MOTHER: 35 THAT THY DAYS MAY BE LONG UPON THE LAND WHICH THE LORD THY GOD GIVETH THEE. 36 THOU SHALT NOT KILL. 37 THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT ADULTERY. 38 THOU SHALT NOT STEAL. 39 THOU SHALT NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS AGAINST THY NEIGHBOUR. 40 THOU SHALT NOT COVET THY NEIGHBOUR'S HOUSE. THOU SHALT NOT COVET THY NEIGHBOUR'S WIFE, NOR HIS MANSERVANT, NOR HIS MAIDSERVANT, NOR HIS OX, NOR HIS ASS, NOR ANY THING THAT IS THY NEIGHBOUR'S. 41 Below the Commandments is additional language from the Book of Matthew in the New Testament. It is headed SUMMARY, and reads: 42 THOU SHALT LOVE THE LORD THY GOD WITH ALL THINE HEART, AND WITH ALL THY SOUL AND WITH ALL THY MIND. 43 THOU SHALT LOVE THY NEIGHBOUR AS THYSELF. 44 The Plaque was a gift to the County in 1918 from a religious organization, the International Reform Bureau, which was a Christian lobby whose mission was to introduce religious principles into public life. At the bottom of the Plaque, in smaller type, is a phrase noting that it was donated by this organization. At the Plaque's dedication ceremony in 1918, Judge John D. Shafer stated that, in accepting the Plaque, the County was recognizing the role of the Commandments in the formation of our laws and the sacrifices made in World War I. See County Br. at 4. 45 The Plaque hangs on a rounded wall that forms part of the entrance to the interior courtyard of the courthouse. It hangs on the Fifth Avenue side of the courthouse at approximately eye-level. On the opposite wall of the courtyard entrance is a plaque of about the same size commemorating an 18th century Polish trader, Anthony Sadowski. App. at 685-713. A public sidewalk is immediately adjacent to the walls, with metal chains separating pedestrians from the plaques. A passerby could easily read the Plaque as he approaches it. Someone walking on the other side of Fifth Avenue could see the Plaque, but would probably not be able to read its contents. In the same vicinity are administrative signs (pertaining to parking and other courthouse information). Located on the other exterior facades of the courthouse, courtyard walls and arched passages leading into the courtyard are plaques commemorating various historic events, people and organizations, for example, a victory during the French and Indian War, a Civil War protest, the Veterans of Foreign Wars association, the County's bicentennial celebration, National P.O.W.-M.I.A. Recognition Day, the Pledge of Allegiance, and memorials for private individuals. Id. at 685-713, 158-63. Above the Grand Staircase of the courthouse, there is a mural depicting the Goddess of Justice and an etching referring to the courthouse as a Temple of Justice. Id. at 608. Other plaques also note aspects of the County's history, such as a tablet commemorating William Pitt, for whom the City of Pittsburgh was named, and markers describing the formation of the County and the origins of Pittsburgh. Three other plaques note the courthouse's inclusion in city, state, and national historical landmark registers. Id. at 685-713. The Plaque was originally affixed to the main facade of the courthouse (on Grant Street), but was moved to its present location sometime before May 11, 1976, when it was entered into the registry of National Historical Landmarks. Neither party to this case has suggested a reason for this move. See Dist. Ct. Op. at 43. 46 Given the fact-specific inquiry required under both the endorsement test and the Lemon test, and the District Court's finding that this case is indistinguishable from Freethought, the factual similarities between the display of the Plaque in this case and the Chester County display are crucial to our decision. We, therefore, provide a description of the Chester County plaque. As in this case, the Chester County plaque was affixed to the exterior wall of the county courthouse, which was listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The plaque was a gift from an organization known as the Religious Education Council. Chester County commissioners accepted the plaque in 1920 in a public dedication ceremony described as having both secular and religious overtones. The Chester County plaque measures 50 inches tall by 39 inches wide (approximately the same size as the Plaque in the instant case) and contains text from the Old and New Testaments identical to that of the Plaque on the Allegheny courthouse. The Chester County plaque was hung near the original main entrance to the Chester County courthouse. In order for someone passing by to read any text other than the heading on the plaque, it would be necessary to climb the steps leading to the original entrance, which was closed in 2001. In addition to the plaque, the side of the Chester County courthouse on which it hangs contains several signs providing administrative information. Also on that facade are plaques noting the courthouse's inclusion in registers of county and national historic places. Unlike in this case, there are no other plaques containing historical, political, or philosophical images or messages on the same side of the building where the Chester County plaque hangs. However, other areas of the courthouse contain displays, including monuments to World War II and Civil War veterans, an historic Chester County marker, and a plaque with an historical description of the original courthouse that stood on the site. Freethought, 334 F.3d at 251-54.