Landscaping, renovations will revitalize historic Manatee courthouse

BRADENTON — New landscaping and other renovations will transform the grounds of Manatee County’s historic courthouse and integrate it with other improvements in downtown Bradenton.

The project calls for war memorials that have long graced the courthouse grounds to be moved to its east side, sandwiched between the courthouse and its newer sibling, the Manatee County Judicial Center, said R.B. “Chips” Shore, county clerk and comptroller.

A Vietnam War memorial will be moved to Manatee Veterans Monument Park along Bradenton’s Riverwalk, at the request of Donald Courtney, chairman of the Manatee County Veterans Council.

“It would be a more fitting place,” Courtney said.

A new police memorial, a new veterans monument, and distinguished citizen footprints set in concrete will be installed along the eastern boundary.

The courthouse lawn will be replanted with native species, which require less water and care than those native to other areas, Shore said. All the plants will be like those that grew in the area when the courthouse was built in 1913, he said.