The Monroe County Courthouse opened its doors for tours on Tuesday for Founders Day.

Courthouse employees showed groups of residents around the county’s new facility from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and photography was strictly prohibited.

The tours started in the new entrance of the courthouse with walls of windows and a high ceiling. The guides pointed out the four digital display boards that list that day’s civil and criminal cases and their courtroom locations.

From there, the tours went up the wide stairway to the first floor, where the tour guides led their groups down the crème-colored hallways pointing out where the various offices are now located.

The Pronthonotary’s office has been moved to the first floor to the left of the stairs. The Custody Department is next, and Domestic Relations is further down in the renovated section of the courthouse.

The old courtrooms in the earliest sections of the buildings are only used for events and ceremonies, such as weddings — not for court cases any more, the tour guide said.

“I like that there is both (the old and new) in the courthouse,” she said, but couldn’t give her name because she didn’t have permission to do an interview.

The interior of the new addition has crème-colored marble accent walls. Like the old courthouse, golden oak wood accents the walls in the new addition with chair-rail height trim and areas from floor to ceiling.

The tour also went to the basement and the second floor, but not the third floor because cases were being heard. The third floor also includes administrative offices, the tour guide said.

The Sheriff’s Office is in the basement along with Juvenile Probation, and Civil and Estate Division. The basement is accessible by the elevators.

The new addition, a wall of large windows lets sunlight stream into the hallways in front of the courtrooms. There are six courtrooms for cases such as adult criminal offenses, two courtrooms for juvenile cases, and three hearing rooms for civil cases.

The tour guide explained that the courtrooms are designed for the different types of hearings that take place in them.

The new design also has rooms adjacent to court and hearing rooms to give attorneys a place to meet with their clients privately before going into the courtroom. An open play area for children is located next to the custody hearing room.

Inside the courtrooms for adult criminal cases, there is a door in the left wall where defendants are brought in from the jail. The tour guide explained that this keeps the defendants separate from the public as they move through the courthouse.

With the new design, vehicles bring defendants from the jail to the courthouse where they enter through special doors in the basement. From there, the defendants are lead through separate corridors directly to their courtrooms.

In the courtrooms, gone are the days of a single table for the defendant and one for the prosecution. Now there are four large work stations in the center between the judge and public, complete with computers.

Twelve large, comfortable seats line the right wall for the jury, and the jury deliberation room for that courtroom, as well as the judge’s chambers, are located behind the judge’s bench.

The courtroom for juvenile defendants is very different than the one for adults. Instead of workstations, the tables for the defense and prosecution, as well as for other services that might take part in the hearing, are set up in a U-shape in order to be more collaborative, the tour guide explained. It’s designed to be a friendlier environment.

The courtrooms for civil hearings are smaller with a table for each side and a long, single bench in the back for people accompanying them.

In an interview after the Founders Day presentation, Monroe County Commissioner John Christy said about the courthouse addition, “There was a lot of thought put into it.”