Million Dollar Courtroom

Originally, the Eastern District of Michigan was situated in another building, but in the 1920s, it was decided a larger building was needed. The old building was to be demolished, but Chief Judge Arthur J. Tuttle advocated that the most opulent room—the million-dollar courtroom—be preserved. He appealed to the Treasury Department, which ultimately agreed the room was too beautiful to be demolished. In fact, in 1931, the marble stone in the room alone was estimated to be worth more than one million dollars. Accordingly, it was taken apart in various sections and stored in over 150 barrels in temporary storage until it was rebuilt in the Theodore Levin Courthouse. Judge Tuttle’s picture remains in the million-dollar courtroom to this day.