The Laconia District Courthouse was officially dedicated on Friday with a ribbon-cutting and it was opened to the public for tours of the recently completed facility.

A capacity crowd gathered in Courtroom One to hear Senior Active Judge David Huot thank the many people responsible for the renovation and expansion of the historic building that once served as Laconia's high school.

N.H. Supreme Court Justice John Broderick Jr. said the festivities marked one of the few happy occasions inside the courthouse where business typically changes people's lives, whether it be a criminal case or a divorce case being heard in family court.

Linda Hodgdon, commissioner of the Department of Administrative Services, said the state was fortunate that architect Keith Hemingway of Bristol was able to preserve so much of the building's history.

The $4.7 project included renovations to 18,000 square feet as well as a 48,000-square-foot addition. Meridian Construction Corporation of Gilford was the general contractor for the project.

Senior Active Judge David O. Huot cuts the ribbon at the Laconia Courthouse, marking the official dedication of the building that underwent $4.7 million worth of renovations. From left are Court Clerk Diane Lane, Commissioner Linda Hodgdon, Department of Administrative Services, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Broderick Jr., and Family Court Clerk Wanda Loanes. (Bea Lewis/Citizen Photo) * Order a print of this photo

Hodgdon urged the several hundred people who attended the ceremonies to look at the oak newel post on the stairway and how well the railings and other woodwork matched the original woodwork. She said new windows were made to look like the originals in the building. The slate roof was retained and all the original brickwork was re-pointed.

While the building once housed a lone courtroom, there now are four; and where there was just a single conference room, there now are five, Hodgdon said.

Judge Edwin Kelly said one of the few times he can make everyone happy in the courtroom is presiding over an adoption or the opening of a courthouse. Citing the involvement of the city of Laconia in helping to get the project completed, Kelly likened the event more to a housewarming than the official opening of a public building.

Noting that many people who attended the event went to school in the building, Kelly said it was "amazing" to be able to continue that history and it was a tribute to the city and to the residents of Belknap County.

"I sorry that there is unlikely to be another day as happy as this. In a courtroom, people discuss the most intimate family details and victims come to seek justice and experience first-hand the constitutional protections and liberties that make up this country," he said.

Kelly stressed that the facility is staffed with "court professionals who care deeply about people and their cases," and said Judge Lucinda Sadler, head of the family court, and Marital Master Michael Garner are among the most highly respected in the state.

He said the city spoke loudly that it wanted the court to remain in the building and that single-minded focus made it become a reality. He recognized both Mayor Matt Lahey and City Manager Eileen Cabanel for their efforts in ensuring that the building would be renovated and that the courthouse would remain in the heart of Laconia.

He also praised the court staff for "laboring in conditions that were awful" prior to the renovations being completed.

Justice Broderick quoted former U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter in saying courthouses are safe places from aggregated power in that everyone is the same size and the same sex and that justice is blind for a reason.

He offered special thanks to the legislature for providing funding for the project and to Commissioner Hodgdon for her role in making the building effort become a reality.

Judge Huot offered special thanks to Diane Lane, the clerk of the district court, and Wanda Loanes, clerk of the Laconia Family Court. He also offered thanks to the visiting judges who are currently serving in the district court: Lawrence MacLeod, Jay Boynton, Timothy McKenna and James Michalik, and retired Special Justice Willard "Bud" Martin.

During the ceremonies, Belknap County Commissioner and local attorney Ed Philpot received recognition for building a lectern for courtroom using mostly scraps of material picked up during construction.