Westmoreland County Courthouse to make TV debut on PCN episode

The most ornate and grand features of the Westmoreland County Courthouse are ready for their television debut.

Plenty of shots of the courthouse's “good side” will fill about 30 minutes of a documentary set to air Thursday on the Pennsylvania Cable Network.

A free public viewing of episode will be held Sept. 1 at the courthouse in Greensburg.

“This was a combination of a lot of different efforts,” said Commissioner Tyler Courtney, who nominated the century-old, four-story granite structure to be featured on the series about the state's historic courthouses.

Courtney and part-time county employee Myrna McCloskey guided film crews around the exterior of the building and its marble-covered interior for 10 hours in June. The commissioner memorized lines and acts as narrator during the episode.

“They did all the filming, and they let me do the presentation of it,” Courtney said.

The episode will include the history of various parts of the courthouse, such as a large staircase and the intricately detailed dome ceiling. Five courtrooms will be featured, including one where Judge Christopher Feliciani presides, Courtney said.

Feliciani chose his second-floor courtroom in 2014 because of the room's rich history and his background in trying cases there as an attorney. The courtroom has ceiling murals, portraits of past judges and dark wood, which he said invokes feelings of integrity and seriousness.

“It really says a lot about Westmoreland County and the whole judicial process,” Feliciani said.

Built in 1906, the courthouse has an Italian Renaissance-style dome topped with an American flag. The interior of the dome is painted with floral arabesques and gold leaf.

Walls and ceilings in the rotunda are adorned with Renaissance-patterned mosaics and globular chandeliers.

A deep red grand staircase that splits into two spirals at one time greeted visitors to the courthouse inside the now-closed original entrance along Main Street.

McCloskey has been conducting tours of the courthouse for the public since 1979.

“She provided moral and informational support” during filming, Courtney said.

The original courthouse, built for $1.6 million, was restored in 1980 at a cost of $6.8 million, according to the county's application for the PCN program.

The episode was produced at no cost to Westmoreland County through a joint effort by PCN and the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania.

“I just think it was a great opportunity to spotlight the county,” Courtney said.

Renatta Signorini is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at 724-837-5374 or rsignorini@tribweb.com.