 The courthouse was used as the primary seat of government for Hudson County from its opening on September 20 , 1910 until the construction of the Hudson County Administration Building in 1966 . The courthouse was vacant for many years and was scheduled for demolition . The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 25 , 1970 . Restoration began in the mid @-@ 1970s , and the building was reopened in 1985 . In 1984 , the Hudson County Board of Chosen Freeholders renamed the building in honor of Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan Jr . The restoration of the courthouse was acknowledged by a Victorian Society in America Preservation Award in 1988 . 
