Renovations
Over the years, a number of renovations were done to the building. Many of these renovations were done in the 1980s. A unique five story glass encased elevator was installed - it is one of the few glass-walled elevators currently in the city. Ground floor entrances replaced the second floor entrance on Central Ave. A granite fountain was placed on the ground floor. Plaster was removed from the walls to show the original brick.
On the outside, a controversial gold leaf coat was added to dome on the central tower. However, the initial application of gold leafing did not hold up well under various weather conditions, so it took further work to repair the leafing on the dome.
In the aftermath of the murder of Federal Judge's Joan Humphrey Lefkow's mother and husband in Illinois, and the murder of Judge Rowland Barnes in Atlanta, Georgia the county reevaluated the security of the court house. The county took several measures to tighten security at the building. This included the closing of all but one entrance to the courthouse, requiring visitors to have their possessions screened, and requiring visitors to pass through a metal detector in order to visit the courthouse.
Read more about this topic: Dubuque County Courthouse