Editing Upper Marlboro, Maryland (section)

===Prince George's County courthouse===
The courthouse has been a critical part of the town since it became the county seat in 1721. Since then, the courthouse in Upper Marlboro has seen many changes. Between 1798 and 1801, a new courthouse was constructed on the site of the old one. The courthouse was again rebuilt in the 1880s.

In 1939, the courthouse was substantially expanded and rebuilt. During this time, the building gained its famous stone [[Ionic columns]]. According to county historian Susan Pearl, "They wanted the neo-classic [[Georgian architecture|Georgian]] university campus building, and that's what they got." The total cost of the revision was $178,000.

Small additions were made in 1947 and 1969.

In the early 1990s, a new courthouse was erected behind the existing courthouse. The new courthouse, composed of the Marbury and Bourne wing, was completed in 1991. The new building occupies {{convert|360000|sqft|m2}} of space and cost $80 million. The old courthouse was then designated as the Duvall Wing and was attached to the new section by walkways.

In May 2003, the old courthouse was closed for a $25 million renovation. On November 3, 2004, two months before the building was scheduled to reopen, a fire broke out and destroyed much of the {{convert|151000|sqft|m2|adj=on}} building. The fire left only a charred skeleton of the [[cupola]], which had overlooked Main Street for 64 years.<ref>{{citation
   |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A21681-2004Nov3?language=printer
   |newspaper=The Washington Post
   |title=Fire Ravages Historic Courthouse
   |last1=Ruane
   |first1=Michael E.
   |last2=Stockwell
   |first2=Jamie
   |date=November 4, 2004
|page=B01
   |access-date=August 11, 2008
   }}{{Dead link|date=July 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

In January 2007, the courthouse briefly caught fire again when sparks from a construction worker's [[welding]] tool ignited building materials on the roof. Firefighters quickly contained the blaze, and the renovations continued.<ref>{{citation
   |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/20/AR2007062001281.html
   |title=New Cupola at Courthouse
   |last=Berger
   |first=Judson
   |newspaper=The Washington Post
   |date=June 21, 2007
|page=T05
   |access-date=August 11, 2008
}}</ref>

On March 12, 2009, the Duvall Wing of the Prince George's County Courthouse reopened after being closed in 2001 for renovations.<ref>{{citation
   |url=http://www.gazette.net/stories/03122009/prinnew170042_32473.shtml
   |title=Centuries-old courthouse reopens today.
   |publisher=Gazette
   |date=March 12, 2009
|access-date=May 20, 2009
}}</ref>