In the early part of the 20th century, Denver served as both the state capital and the Arapahoe County seat, but after Colorado voters passed a 1902 constitutional amendment creating a new City and County of Denver, Arapahoe County was left without a permanent county seat and Littleton and Englewood campaigned for two years to win that designation. County officials shared office space in Littleton's two-story frame town hall at 2450 West Main Street during the contest, which featured promotions such as a free barbecue and potato roast with dancing and horse racing. When votes were cast on November 8, 1904, Littleton won with 1,310 votes to Englewood's 829. Although local merchants wanted the new courthouse built on Main Street, county commissioners selected a site east of town with a commanding view down Main Street toward Mount Evans and chose English-trained architect John J. Huddart to design it. The building, designed in the Mission Revival style, sits on a raised basement to bring additional natural light into that level and to emphasize the first-floor entry, with curvilinear dormer parapets, overhanging eaves, stone support brackets at each corner, and a plain frieze between vent windows. Littleton's Weston Masonic Lodge placed the cornerstone during a community celebration on August 24, 1907, with Colorado Masonic Grand Master Senator Henry Teller and Thomas Walsh among the speakers, and 1,500 people attended the dedication on the evening of January 17, 1908, when the building was brilliantly lighted by electricity brought to Littleton only five years earlier. In 1948, county commissioners added a new west wing at a cost of $272,000. Court operations moved to a new location on East Arapahoe Road in 1988, and after the building was vacated it was saved from demolition when the city acquired it for use as the Littleton Municipal Courthouse. With a grant from the State Historical Fund, restoration began in 1998 under a plan developed by Andrews and Anderson; the 1948 addition was removed, the building was cleaned and tuck pointed, windows, crown molding, and cupola were repaired, and the courthouse reopened in 2000 with its 1908 appearance restored and the project receiving numerous awards.