Brooklyn Borough Hall | |
Location | 209 Joralemon Street Brooklyn, New York 11201 |
---|---|
Coordinates | 40°41′34″N73°59′24″W / 40.69278°N 73.99000°W |
Area | 1 acre (0.40 ha) |
Built | 1848 |
Architect | Calvin Pollard Gamaliel King |
Architectural style | Greek Revival |
NRHP reference No. | 80002630 [1] |
NYCL No. | 0147 |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | January 10, 1980 |
Designated NYCL | April 19, 1966 |
Brooklyn Borough Hall is a building in Downtown Brooklyn, New York City. It was designed by architects Calvin Pollard and Gamaliel King in the Greek Revival style, and constructed of Tuckahoe marble under the supervision of superintendent Stephen Haynes.
It was completed in 1848 as the City Hall for the City of Brooklyn. In January 1898 the independent City of Brooklyn merged with the City of New York, and Kings County became the Borough of Brooklyn, at which time the building became Brooklyn Borough Hall.
In 1834, the year Brooklyn was granted its city charter, the land for Brooklyn's city hall was donated by the Remsen and Pierrepont families, whose names are commemorated in the names of Remsen and Pierrepont Streets in nearby Brooklyn Heights. The following year, New York architect Calvin Pollard won the commission to design the building in a contest held by the city. The foundations were dug and the cornerstone laid for this structure in 1836. However, financial hardship halted construction entirely. [2]
When funds again became available in 1845 construction resumed, this time of a structure designed by Gamaliel King, who had come in second to Pollard in the city's design competition, with instructions from the city that the new building must fit inside the already laid foundation. [2] King preserved many elements of Pollard's original design and intent, including its Greek Revival style, although the project was scaled down in size somewhat. [3] Construction was completed in 1848.
The Kings County Courthouse was built in 1868, turning this area – now known as Downtown Brooklyn – into a government center and busy area of commerce. In the 1940s, the Kings County Courthouse and other nearby buildings to the north were replaced by a complex of courthouses and a plaza in front of Borough Hall. A mall connects the building to Cadman Plaza Park. [4]
On February 26, 1895, waste paper caught fire and destroyed the cupola and the statue of Justice that stood atop it, [5] as well as the top floors of the building; water damage ruined the walls and ceiling of the Common Council chamber. Three years later, a new Victorian cast-iron cupola was built, designed by Vincent C. Griffith and the firm of Stoughton and Stoughton, [3] [6] [7] on which was placed a flag. [4] In 1898, the city of Brooklyn was consolidated into the five boroughs of New York City, and this building ceased being "City Hall" and became "Borough Hall". In 1902, the Common Council room was demolished to build a new courtroom, designed in the Beaux-Arts style by Brooklyn architect Axel Hedman.
Starting in the 1930s, there were numerous proposals to raze Borough Hall, based on arguments that it no longer performed any government function, that its architecture was not particularly notable, and that it was a monument to an extremely brief era in Brooklyn's history. In 1966, the building was designated a city landmark by the then-new New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 10, 1980.
In the 1980s, the building underwent a massive renovation under the supervision of Conklin & Rossant. The original copper shingling on the cupola was restored by Les metalliers Champenois, the same metalworks involved in the restoration of the Statue of Liberty, and the flag on the cupola was replaced by a new figure of Lady Justice. [4] The renovation was completed in 1989. In the mid-2010s, the plaza became a popular skate spot after a restoration. [6] [7]
Green-Wood Cemetery is a 478-acre (193 ha) cemetery in the western portion of Brooklyn, New York City. The cemetery is located between South Slope/Greenwood Heights, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Borough Park, Kensington, and Sunset Park, and lies several blocks southwest of Prospect Park. Its boundaries include, among other streets, 20th Street to the northeast, Fifth Avenue to the northwest, 36th and 37th Streets to the southwest, Fort Hamilton Parkway to the south, and McDonald Avenue to the east.
Kings County Savings Bank is a former bank building at 135 Broadway in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City. It is an example of French Second Empire-style architecture. Construction of the building began in 1860, to designs of William H. Willcox of Brooklyn, in partnership with prominent New York architect Gamaliel King, working as King & Willcox. The structure was continuously occupied by banks until the 1990s. The Williamsburg Art & Historical Center has operated the building since 1996.
The Jefferson Market Branch of the New York Public Library, once known as the Jefferson Market Courthouse, is a National Historic Landmark located at 425 Avenue of the Americas, on the southwest corner of West 10th Street, in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City, on a triangular plot formed by Greenwich Avenue and West 10th Street. It was originally built as the Third Judicial District Courthouse from 1874 to 1877, and was designed by architect Frederick Clarke Withers of the firm of Vaux and Withers.
William Bunker Tubby was an American architect who was particularly notable for his work in New York City.
The Center for Brooklyn History is a museum, library, and educational center founded in 1863 that preserves and encourages the study of Brooklyn's 400-year history. The center's Romanesque Revival building, located at Pierrepont and Clinton Streets in Brooklyn Heights, was designed by George B. Post and built in 1878–1881 by David H. King Jr., is a National Historic Landmark and part of New York City's Brooklyn Heights Historic District. The CBH houses materials relating to the history of Brooklyn and its people, and hosts exhibitions which draw over 9,000 members a year. In addition to general programming, the CBH serves over 70,000 public school students and teachers annually by providing exhibit tours, educational programs and curricula, and making its professional staff available for instruction and consultation.
The Ogle County Courthouse is a National Register of Historic Places listing in the Ogle County, Illinois, county seat of Oregon. The building stands on a public square in the city's downtown commercial district. The current structure was completed in 1891 and was preceded by two other buildings, one of which was destroyed by a group of outlaws. Following the destruction of the courthouse, the county was without a judicial building for a period during the 1840s. The Ogle County Courthouse was designed by Chicago architect George O. Garnsey in the Romanesque Revival style of architecture. The ridged roof is dominated by its wooden cupola which stands out at a distance.
The Brooklyn Heights Historic District is a historic district that comprises much of the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City. It was named a National Historic Landmark in January, 1965, designated a New York City Landmark in November, 1965, and added to the National Register of Historic Places in October, 1966.
Gamaliel King was an American architect who practiced in New York City and the adjacent city of Brooklyn, where he was a major figure in Brooklyn civic and ecclesiastical architecture for several decades.
The Federal Building and Post Office is a historic main post office, courthouse, and Federal office building in Brooklyn, New York. The original building was the Brooklyn General Post Office, and is now the Downtown Brooklyn Station, and the north addition is the courthouse for the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of New York, and is across the street from and in the jurisdiction of the main courthouse of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, the Theodore Roosevelt Federal Courthouse. It also houses offices for the United States Attorney, In 2009, the United States Congress enacted legislation renaming the building the Conrad B. Duberstein United States Bankruptcy Courthouse, in honor of chief bankruptcy judge Conrad B. Duberstein.
The Bronx Borough Courthouse, commonly referred to as the Old Bronx Borough Courthouse, is a building in the Melrose neighborhood of the Bronx, New York City. The courthouse was built between 1905 and 1914 near Boston Road, Third Avenue, St. Anns Avenue, and 161st Street. The 161st Street station of the New York City Subway's IRT Third Avenue elevated was in front of the courthouse. For two decades it housed the Supreme, Surrogate's, and County Courts of the borough until the larger Bronx County Courthouse was built in 1934. The Bronx Branch of the New York City Criminal Court remained here until 1977 when the city formally sealed the doors. It is a National Register of Historic Places listing and a New York City Landmark.
Calvin Pollard was a New York City architect. He is known for his early design of the Brooklyn Borough Hall, the Petersburg courthouse, and numerous other schools and houses in the New York City area.
The Cobble Hill Historic District is a municipal and national historic district located in the Cobble Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City. The national district consists of 796 contributing, largely residential buildings built between the 1830s and 1920s. It includes fine examples of Greek Revival, Italianate, and Queen Anne style row houses. Also in the district are a number of notable churches, including ones by Richard Upjohn and Minard Lafever, 1851–52). A number of early 20th century apartment buildings are part of the district as well.
The Surrogate's Courthouse is a historic building at the northwest corner of Chambers and Centre Streets in the Civic Center of Manhattan in New York City. Completed in 1907, it was designed in the Beaux Arts style. John Rochester Thomas created the original plans while Arthur J. Horgan and Vincent J. Slattery oversaw the building's completion. The building faces City Hall Park and the Tweed Courthouse to the south and the Manhattan Municipal Building to the east.
The New York State Supreme Court Building, originally known as the New York County Courthouse, at 60 Centre Street on Foley Square in the Civic Center neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, houses the Civil and Appellate Terms of the New York State Supreme Court for the state's First Judicial District, which is coextensive with Manhattan, as well as the offices of the New York County Clerk.
This is a timeline and chronology of the history of Brooklyn, New York. Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's boroughs, and was settled in 1646.
The First Presbyterian Church, located at 124 Henry Street between Pierrepont and Clark Streets in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City was built in 1846 and was designed by William B. Olmstead in the Gothic Revival style. The church's memorial doorway was added in 1921 and was designed by James Gamble Rogers. Architecturally, the church's dominant feature is its 90-foot (27 m) crenellated tower with pointed arch windows. Many of the stained glass windows in the church are by the Louis Comfort Tiffany Studios.
The Yavapai County Courthouse is located at 120 South Cortez Street in Prescott, Arizona. The current courthouse building was built in 1916. It was designed by architect William N. Bowman (1868–1944) and it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. It is also known for its statue of Bucky O'Neill, a Rough Rider and former Mayor of Prescott. Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater announced his presidential candidacy in 1964 from the steps of the courthouse.
The Parfitt Brothers were architects in Brooklyn, New York CIty. The firm included three brothers, Henry, Walter and Albert, who were born in Frome, England. They were "one of Brooklyn’s best and busiest architectural firms of the late 19th and early 20th" centuries. They designed row houses, mansions, apartment buildings, public offices, commercial buildings and churches. Their work includes two buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places: Moody Mansion in Pittston, Maine and the Tree Studio Building and Annexes in Chicago.
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