The Benton County Courthouse is a striking example of Italianate architecture, dating from 1888 and considered one of the finest historic courthouses in Oregon. Its brick facade, arched windows, and cupola make it a visual anchor for the downtown area. The building is still in use as an active courthouse, which keeps it maintained and gives it a purposeful feel rather than the slightly forlorn quality of some preserved buildings.
It's worth pausing at the exterior — the building stands at the corner of Fifth and Monroe, and the surrounding downtown blocks contain a concentration of other late-nineteenth-century commercial buildings that give a sense of what a prosperous Willamette Valley town looked like in the railroad era.