Smith County Courthouse Topping Out ceremony

TYLER – More than 150 people attended Smith County’s Topping Out Ceremony for the Courthouse Construction Project on Wednesday, November 19. The ceremony was a celebration marking the placement of the final beam being placed at the highest point of the eight-story construction project. Stephen Flournoy, the project executive for Hoar Construction, explained the significance of the Topping Out Ceremony, which comes from an ancient Scandinavian practice of placing the highest leafy branch of a tree on top of a new structure. It is a symbol of where the building began and a marker of its completion.

“Today, we place our highest beam and celebrate structural completion; we align ourselves with those of Seventh Century Scandinavia and raise a tree as a symbol for good luck, prosperity and continued growth for this building and its future architects,” he said.

Smith County officials and employees; members of the architect, construction and contractor teams; as well as members of the community, signed the beam before it was hoisted to the very top of the Courthouse with a crane. The tree, and American and Texas flags were placed on top of the beam. That beam will be one of several that hold the dome in place after it is fabricated.

“As we place the topping out beam and celebrate structural completion, we have asked many of you to come alongside us and sign your name to the beam,” Flournoy said. “Your signatures memorialize the countless hours of collaboration, support and teamwork by community leaders, project stakeholders, design team members and the hundreds of men and women who safely put work in place every day to create a building of this magnitude. A building that will be home for justice in Smith County and a focal point as an important gathering space for our community.”

Flournoy called the courthouse a “generational, transformational project” for Smith County and Downtown Tyler. The event marks a significant milestone in the construction project, which is about at the halfway point. The Courthouse is expected to be open in December 2026. The Courthouse will be 223 feet tall.