Refurbished 105-year-old "Lady Justice" Statue to be Unveiled at Oakland County Court House Ceremony

PONTIAC, MI - August 28, 2009 - Oakland County's Lady Justice, which first adorned the old Oakland County Court House in 1904, will be rededicated on Tuesday, September 1, 2009.  The ceremony begins at 10:30 a.m. and will be hosted by Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson.

The Oakland County Court House is located at 1200 N. Telegraph Road in Pontiac.  The dedication will be held in the South Plaza.  Patterson will be joined by Bill Bullard, chairman of the Board of Commissioners, Chief Circuit Judge Wendy Potts and Chief Probate Judge Elizabeth Pezzetti.

The original statue was constructed of thin sheets of zinc metal plate and fabricated by the now-defunct W.H. Mullins Sheet Metal Statuary and Cornice Works Co. of Salem, Ohio.  It was recast in bronze by the Fine Arts Sculpture Centre, Inc. of Clarkston, substantially increasing its weight from 100 pounds to 365 pounds.  The 9,200-pound base upon which Lady Justice sits is Georgia white marble and taken from the same quarry that supplied the marble facing for the court house in 1960.

The entire project cost $61,900, half of which is being paid by the county and the remainder by private donations.  Support for the project has come from the Oakland County Bar Association, the Oakland County courts, private attorneys and county employees.