Queens Borough Hall

Last updated
Queens Borough Hall
QueensBoroughHall.jpg
USA New York City location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location within New York City
General information
Location120-55 Queens Boulevard Queens, New York
Coordinates 40°42′49″N73°49′41″W / 40.71361°N 73.82806°W / 40.71361; -73.82806
Completed1940
Design and construction
Architect(s)William Gehron and Andrew J. Thomas

Queens Borough Hall is a public building in the Kew Gardens neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City which houses the Office of the Queens Borough President and other city offices and court space. [1] It is located in the Kew Gardens municipal facilities stretch bounded by Queens Boulevard and Union Turnpike among other roads.

Contents

Designed by architects William Gehron and Andrew J. Thomas in the stripped classical style, [1] it was built between March and November 1940 at a cost of some $1,800,000, low for its size. [2] Featuring a red brick facade, [3] was 580 feet long upon construction and four stories high; the office suite for the borough president and his or her cabinet was designed for the center of the building. [2] The building was opened on December 4, 1940, with Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia and many other city officials in attendance. [2] The structure subsequently won a design award from the Queens Chamber of Commerce. [1] The building bares a striking resemblance to the Naval Ordnance Laboratory Administration building in Maryland, (now Food and Drug Administration headquarters) which was built in the same stripped classical style.

A previous Queens Borough Hall, built around 1910, had been located in the Long Island City neighborhood. [4]

Queens Borough Hall was designed to serve as the center of civic life, and had other functions, such as a post office, when first built. [1] It has become a popular spot for marriages, with some 9,000 of them being performed in the hall during 2006. [3] Fridays are the most popular day for the ceremonies, which are presided over by the borough's deputy city clerk in a small chapel. [3]

Frederick MacMonnies's heroically scaled and controversial marble allegory of Civic Virtue (1909–22) was moved outside Queens Borough Hall in 1941, and decades later was still drawing criticism from those who viewed it as depicting "masculinity as virtue and femininity as vice". [5] In 2012 it was moved to Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn.

At the east end of Queens Borough Hall on 82nd Avenue, a retired New York City Subway redbird train, R33 car #9075, was previously on display signed as a 7 train. [6] [7] [8] The Redbird car was formerly a visitor center for the Queens Borough Hall, but the visitor center closed in 2015 due to low patronage, [9] [10] and the car was then briefly used as a landmark and for movie shoots. [11] Following years of degradation and neglect caused by apathetic Borough Hall officials, it was decided the car would be put up for auction; It sold for $235,700 in July 2022. [12] This is part of a greater overall effort by Borough President Donovan Richards of "reimagining the surroundings at borough hall". [13]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Independent Subway System</span> Defunct subway operator in New York City

The Independent Subway System, formerly known as the Independent City-Owned Subway System (ICOSS) or the Independent City-Owned Rapid Transit Railroad (ICORTR), was a rapid transit rail system in New York City that is now part of the New York City Subway. It was first constructed as the Eighth Avenue Line in Manhattan in 1932.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kew Gardens, Queens</span> Neighborhood of Queens in New York City

Kew Gardens is a neighborhood in the central area of the New York City borough of Queens. Kew Gardens is bounded to the north by the Union Turnpike and the Jackie Robinson Parkway, to the east by the Van Wyck Expressway and 131st Street, to the south by Hillside Avenue, and to the west by Park Lane, Abingdon Road, and 118th Street. Forest Park is to the west and the neighborhood of Forest Hills to the north-west, Flushing Meadows–Corona Park north, Richmond Hill south, Briarwood southeast, and Kew Gardens Hills east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mets–Willets Point station (IRT Flushing Line)</span> New York City Subway station in Queens

The Mets–Willets Point station is a rapid transit station on the IRT Flushing Line of the New York City Subway. Located near the Citi Field baseball stadium, it is served by the 7 train at all times and by the express <7> train rush hours in the peak direction or after sporting events. This station is located near Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Willets Point, Queens, on Roosevelt Avenue between 114th and 126th Streets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">103rd Street–Corona Plaza station</span> New York City Subway station in Queens

The 103rd Street–Corona Plaza station is a local station on the IRT Flushing Line of the New York City Subway, located at the intersection of 103rd Street and Roosevelt Avenue. It is served by the 7 train at all times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Junction Boulevard station</span> New York City Subway station in Queens

The Junction Boulevard station is an express station on the IRT Flushing Line of the New York City Subway, located at the intersection of Junction Boulevard and Roosevelt Avenue in Corona, Queens. It is served by the 7 train at all times and by rush hour peak-direction <7> express service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queensboro Plaza station</span> New York City Subway station in Queens

The Queensboro Plaza station is an elevated New York City Subway station at Queens Plaza in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens. It is near the east end of the Queensboro Bridge, with Queens Boulevard running east from the plaza. The station is served by the 7 and N trains at all times, the W train on weekdays, and the <7> train rush hours in the peak direction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">82nd Street–Jackson Heights station</span> New York City Subway station in Queens

The 82nd Street–Jackson Heights station is a local station on the IRT Flushing Line of the New York City Subway, located at the intersection of 82nd Street and Roosevelt Avenue in Jackson Heights, Queens. It is served by the 7 train at all times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">69th Street station (IRT Flushing Line)</span> New York City Subway station in Queens

The 69th Street station is a local station on the IRT Flushing Line of the New York City Subway. Located at 69th Street and Roosevelt Avenue in the Woodside, Queens, it is served by the 7 train at all times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Redbird trains</span> Family of New York City Subway cars

Redbird trains were eight New York City Subway train models so-nicknamed because of their red paint. The Redbirds totaled 1,410 cars of the following types on the A Division lines: R26, R28, R29, R33, R33S, and R36. There were also 550 cars on the B Division lines: R27 and R30/A. All were built by the American Car and Foundry Company and the St. Louis Car Company.

The IND Queens Boulevard Line, sometimes abbreviated as QBL, is a line of the B Division of the New York City Subway in Manhattan and Queens, New York City, United States. The line, which is underground throughout its entire route, contains 23 stations. The core section between 50th Street in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, and 169th Street in Jamaica, Queens, was built by the Independent Subway System (IND) in stages between 1933 and 1940, with the Jamaica–179th Street terminus opening in 1950. As of 2015, it is among the system's busiest lines, with a weekday ridership of over 460,000 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">R33 (New York City Subway car)</span> Retired class of New York City Subway car

The R33 was a New York City Subway car model that was built by St. Louis Car Company in 1962 and 1963. The cars are a "follow-up" or supplemental stock for the A Division's R29s and closely resemble them. The cars were also referred to as R33MLs to distinguish them from the R33S's. A total of 500 cars were built, numbered 8806–9305, and arranged in pairs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forest Hills–71st Avenue station</span> New York City Subway station in Queens

The Forest Hills–71st Avenue station is an express station on the IND Queens Boulevard Line of the New York City Subway, located on Queens Boulevard at 71st (Continental) Avenue in Forest Hills, Queens. It is served by the E and F trains at all times, the <F> train during rush hours in the reverse peak direction, the R train at all times except late nights, and the M train on weekdays except late nights. It serves as the terminus for the latter two services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Briarwood station</span> New York City Subway station in Queens

The Briarwood station is a local station on the IND Queens Boulevard Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of 84th Drive, Main Street, Queens Boulevard, and the Van Wyck Expressway, in Briarwood, Queens, bordering Kew Gardens, it is served by the F train at all times, the E train at all times except rush hours and middays, and the <F> train during rush hours in the reverse peak direction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">75th Avenue station</span> New York City Subway station in Queens

The 75th Avenue station is a local station on the IND Queens Boulevard Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of 75th Avenue and Queens Boulevard in Forest Hills, Queens, it is served by the F train at all times, the E train at all times except weekday rush hours and middays, and the <F> train during rush hours in the reverse peak direction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kew Gardens Hills, Queens</span> Neighborhood in Queens, New York City

Kew Gardens Hills is a neighborhood in the middle of the New York City borough of Queens. The borders are Flushing Meadows-Corona Park to the west, the Long Island Expressway to the north, Union Turnpike to the south, and Parsons Boulevard to the east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kew Gardens–Union Turnpike station</span> New York City Subway station in Queens

The Kew Gardens–Union Turnpike station is an express station on the IND Queens Boulevard Line of the New York City Subway. Located at Union Turnpike and Queens Boulevard on the border of Kew Gardens and Forest Hills, Queens, it is served by the E and F trains at all times, and the <F> train during rush hours in the reverse peak direction. Despite the station's name, Union Turnpike forms the border between Kew Gardens and Forest Hills, and the station straddles that border, with multiple entrances located in each neighborhood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">36th Avenue station</span> New York City Subway station in Queens

The 36th Avenue station is a local station on the BMT Astoria Line of the New York City Subway. It is located at the intersection of 36th Avenue and 31st Street in Astoria, Queens. The station is served by the N train at all times, as well as by the W train on weekdays.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">39th Avenue station (BMT Astoria Line)</span> New York City Subway station in Queens

The 39th Avenue station is a local station on the BMT Astoria Line of the New York City Subway. It is located at 39th Avenue and 31st Street in Long Island City, Queens. The station is served by the N train at all times, as well as by the W train on weekdays.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">67th Avenue station</span> New York City Subway station in Queens

The 67th Avenue station is a local station on the IND Queens Boulevard Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of 67th Avenue and Queens Boulevard in Forest Hills, Queens, it is served by the M train on weekdays, the R train at all times except nights, and the E and F trains during late nights.

<i>Civic Virtue</i> Sculpture in New York City

Civic Virtue Triumphant Over Unrighteousness (1909–1922) is a sculpture group and fountain in New York City, created by sculptor Frederick William MacMonnies and architect Thomas Hastings, and carved by the Piccirilli Brothers. The fountain was originally placed in front of New York City Hall in Manhattan, spent almost 72 years beside Queens Borough Hall in Queens, and the sculpture group is now located in Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn.

References

Civic Virtue Civic Virtue Queens jeh.JPG
Civic Virtue
  1. 1 2 3 4 "Queens Borough Hall". New York City . Retrieved August 2, 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 "New Queens Borough Hall Will Open Today; 3,000 Will Be Guests at a Buffet Luncheon" (fee required). The New York Times . December 4, 1940.
  3. 1 2 3 "Love Is All Around". The New York Times . June 17, 2007.
  4. ↑ "Gresser Besieged by Irate Citizens" (fee required). The New York Times . April 7, 1910.
  5. ↑ Fried, Joseph P. (October 13, 1987). "Statue Showing Women as 'Evil' May Be Moved". The New York Times . The slow-paced commission of the sculpture, its execution by the Piccirilli brothers and public resistance to its erection in City Hall Park in 1922 form a chapter in Michele H. Bogart, Public Sculpture and the Civic Ideal in New York City, 1890-1930 (University of Chicago Press), 1989:259-70.
  6. ↑ Gothamist (September 18, 2014). "Visiting The Retired Redbird Subway Train In Queens". gothamist.com . Gothamist. Archived from the original on 10 May 2015. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  7. ↑ Brown, Kim (2005-02-03). "The Last Redbird Subway Car Is Installed At Borough Hall". Queens Chronicle. Retrieved 2016-07-01.
  8. ↑ Freudenheim, Ellen (2006). Discover Queens, New York City's Best-Kept Secret! . Macmillan Books. p.  156. ISBN   0-312-35818-0.
  9. ↑ "Say Goodbye To The Queens Tourism Center That's Housed In An Old Subway Car". Gothamist. 2015-07-10. Archived from the original on 2015-09-18. Retrieved 2016-07-01.
  10. ↑ Levy, Nicole (2015-07-14). "Five Possible Sites for a New Queens Tourism Center". DNAinfo New York. Archived from the original on 2016-08-21. Retrieved 2016-07-01.
  11. ↑ Ngu, Rebecca; Small, Eddie; Kern-Jedrychowska, Ewa (2016-03-25). "'The Get Down' Filmed a Subway Scene in Queens' Retired Redbird". DNAinfo New York. Archived from the original on 2016-08-21. Retrieved 2016-07-01.
  12. ↑ "SOLD! Vintage 'Redbird' subway car fetches nearly quarter-million dollars at online auction | amNewYork". 17 July 2022.
  13. ↑ Barron, James (23 June 2022). "The Tangled Tale of Eric Adams's Apartment in Brooklyn". The New York Times.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.