It has been 120 years since Henry Hobson Richardson's Allegheny County Courthouse was dedicated in 1888, and to mark the occasion, a dozen architectural historians and other academics from the United States and Canada will gather April 18 at the University of Pittsburgh for a daylong symposium.

"The Allegheny County Courthouse in Context" will explore Richardson's career, the design and conservation of the courthouse and its impact on civic architecture across North America. For details on presenters and their topics, visit www.haa.pitt.edu/news.

The symposium, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by Pitt's Architectural Studies Program and will be from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the Frick Fine Arts Building auditorium, 320 Schenley Drive, Oakland. Reserve a spot in the audience by calling 412-648-2400 or e-mailing ets2@pitt.edu by Friday.

Two other events in the fall -- an exhibit and another symposium -- also will mark the 120th anniversary.

The exhibit, "Pittsburgh and the Architectural Sublime: H.H. Richardson's Allegheny County Courthouse and Jail," will be held Sept. 2-Oct. 16 and feature 51 drawings from Richardson and others who entered the courthouse design competition, as well as construction drawings for the building. Watercolor studies for Vincent Nesbert's murals in the lobby and Clyde Hare's photographs of the building also will be featured.

The second symposium, inspired by the conversion of the Allegheny County Jail into family and juvenile courts, will examine the use and reuse of 19th-century prisons and be held Sept. 25-27 at Pitt.