_General Setting and Building Site._ The original Fairfax County courthouse today comprises the north end section of the courthouse building. Together with its immediately adjacent grounds, the present courthouse complex occupies almost the entire four-acre tract which was the original site. This tract still forms a square near the center of the City of Fairfax, at the intersections of two main roads, Routes 236 (Little River Turnpike) and 123 (Chain Bridge Road). The general setting is gently rolling terrain, and the courthouse site is on a slightly higher elevation than the surrounding area, with stone retaining walls on the two sides facing the turnpike and road. On the west side of the courthouse building is a parking lot occupying approximately two acres. The twelve-story county office building (Massey Building) completed in 1969 is located approximately 200 yards south and west of the courthouse. _The Exterior_ _Overall Dimensions._ The restored, original courthouse building is a plain rectangle, 61 feet long by 32 feet wide. It is oriented with the long sides facing north and south, with the main entrance at the east end of the building. A portico extends across the entire east end of the building, covering an area 12 by 32 feet. The height of the building at the gable ends is 32 feet; and the height of the eaves from the ground is 21 feet. _Foundations._ As originally built, the courthouse rested on brick foundation walls, anchored at the corners in brick piers, with a crawl space of approximately 1-1/2 to 2 feet in height beneath all but the front (east) quarter of the floor space. Additional brick bases, approximately 18 inches square and resting on the ground, were located in the crawl space beneath the two columns supporting the courthouse balcony. In the late nineteenth century, a partial basement was dug beneath the central section of the courtroom.[171]