Wookieelog… Julian Date 023…. today’s mission from Captain Alissa to seek out the last Level 38 item and write a Where Did THAT come from for it. Danger is imminent and the subject’s originality may be elusive but failure is not an option. Scanning content for freemium building (beep boop beep)…. (blip beep blip)…. (leave a message at the beep)…..
Ah! Here it is! The Springfield Courthouse… an item that’s been coveted by tappers for almost a year and its itinerant dweller… Judge Roy Snyder. What to say about this beautiful piece of architecture? Well, click more if you’d like to see my ramblings on it.
What a pretty building.
Lol… how fun would it be to just leave the post with that sentence and picture? Of course Alissa would kill me but I’m still laughing at the idea. So first some rambling about the courthouse. I can’t help see the design and see some classic buildings it looks like. The first one I immediately think of is the New York Public Library because of the lions.
I’m sure when I first saw the Springfield Courthouse in my childhood I would have thought of it as that library from the Ghostbusters movie. The Lions are the single identifying characteristic of that real building. I love that they are in front of the Springfield Courthouse as well.
Nerd note: (from wikipedia) “Two stone lions (made of Tennessee marble) lie at either side of the stairway to the entrance. The famous pair guarding the entrance were sculpted by Edward Clark Potter. Their original names, “Leo Astor” and “Leo Lenox” (in honor of the library’s founders) were transformed into Lord Astor and Lady Lenox (although both lions are male), and in the 1930s they were nicknamed “Patience” and “Fortitude” by Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, who chose the names because he felt that the citizens of New York would need to possess these qualities to see themselves through the Great Depression. Patience is on the south side (the left as one faces the main entrance) and Fortitude on the north.”
Nerd question for bonus points: Can you name another famous US building with a lion in front of it?
What do you think the Springfield Lions are named? My daughter suggested No Parking and El Barto because of this Courthouse image.
Another famous courthouse I can think of that has two statues flanking it AND pillars… The United States Supreme Courthouse…
The Script over the pillars (AND JUSTICE FOR MOST) makes me think of the New York County Supreme Courthouse.
I guess it’d be fair to say that most courthouses bear resemblances to each other so anyone could make their own theory on the origins for the Springfield design. Even with that being said, does any one else see a resemblance to the courthouse in Back to the Future?
This building was in the Universal Studios Hollywood Backlot and looks similar without all the paint from the movie, don’t you think?
Alright… I think I’ve filled my rambling quota for today so now to get in to the WDTCF for the Springfield Courthouse. The first appearance of the building was in Season 1, Episode 12: Krusty Gets Busted. It’s just a quick glimpse as Krusty is escorted into the Courthouse but the lion is instantly recognizable.
Not the greatest shot of the building in all its glory and the Courthouse’s second exterior appearance is no different. Here’s what we is shown quickly in Season 2, Episode 10: Bart Gets Hit by a Car.
Both lions proudly displayed for just a few seconds. Viewers had to wait until Season 3, Episode 4: Bart the Murderer for the Courthouse’s first big shot. We see the courthouse as The Simpson family leaves Bart’s murder trial. Notice anything different?
Yup… No Parking and El Barto are on their hind legs in this shot. Just like certain bits of geography… things end up different in Springfield. This episode was actually a great one for strangeness. Just check out this interesting bit from inside the Courthouse.
Curiouser and curiouser. Anyone who enjoys the Simpsons has seen an episode with antics in the courtroom. Whether it’s Lionel Hutz without pants, Garth Motherloving threatening to kill everyone or the clumsy French waiter during Freddy Quimby’s trial, this building is an excellent addition to TSTO. Whether you think of it as the County Courthouse or the Municipal Courthouse is up to you. Does it get better than freemium with a new character?
Once I can get back in my town, I can’t wait to see how all my neighboreenos have decorated this gorgeous bit of pixellated architecture. Until then, I remain the resident Fuzzball. Keep on tapping on and TTFN… Wookiee out!
All original art and content © Up All Night, LLC and TSTOAddicts.com
All Screen Shots of Game Graphics & Dialogue and Game Graphics from files ™ and © EA, Gracie Films and FOX
My favorite lions are not in front of a building, but instead are on each end of the Taft bridge. What’s really cool about them is the (Cguy declaration) honorary addicts who have decorated them for christmas for for the last 25+ years. They are just some nearby residents who have an annual party, and then dress them up for the holidays. One year, a Capital Police Officer stopped and asked them what they were doing. When they said “Decorating the Lions,” he wished them Merry Christmas and drove off!
http://tinyurl.com/taftlions
The Art Institute of Chicago.
Old State House. BOSTON. Burned down in 1776
Also US Capital Building.
Couldn’t find an image of the lion in front of the Boston Old State House but the Capitol Building was what I was going for. Thanks for reading! Your cool points are in the mail.