Staten Island Borough Hall

Last updated
Staten Island Borough Hall
SI Boro Hall jeh.JPG
Richmond Terrace facade
USA New York City location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Staten Island Borough Hall
Interactive map showing Staten Island Borough Hall
Location10 Richmond Terrace, Staten Island, New York
Coordinates 40°38′33″N74°4′35″W / 40.64250°N 74.07639°W / 40.64250; -74.07639
Area5 acres (2.0 ha) (including neighboring courthouse)
Built1906
ArchitectCarrere & Hastings
Architectural styleBeaux Arts, French Renaissance
NRHP reference No. 83004150 [1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPOctober 6, 1983 (as Staten Island Borough Hall and Richmond County Courthouse)
Designated NYCLMarch 23, 1982

Staten Island Borough Hall is the primary municipal building for the borough of Staten Island in New York City. It is located at 10 Richmond Terrace, next to the Richmond County Courthouse and opposite the St. George Terminal of the Staten Island Ferry. Borough Hall houses the Borough President's office, offices of the Departments of Buildings and Transportation, and other civic offices.

Contents

The 1906 French Renaissance style brick and limestone building was designed by Carrere and Hastings, following the consolidation of New York City in 1898. John Carrere was a resident of Staten Island and he helped select the dramatic hilltop site of Borough Hall. The interior of the building contains a series of thirteen WPA murals illustrating events in Staten Island history, painted by local artist Frederick Charles Stahr. [2] [3]

The building is a New York City Landmark and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. [1]

Murals

Borough Hall was originally designed with thirteen arched niches on the main floor, designed to showcase a series of murals. Each niche is 13 feet (4 m) high by 6.5 feet (2 m) wide. Frederick Charles Stahr, who grew up on Staten Island and had studied painting in Munich and at the Academy of Design in Rome, had been promised a commission by fellow Staten Islander John Carrere, but no money for murals was available when the building was finished in 1906.

Thirty years later, Stahr applied for funding through the Works Progress Administration, and the project was approved in 1936. Working out of a third-floor studio, Stahr created storybook style oil paintings on canvas over the next two years, which were cemented to Borough Hall's walls as he went along.

The thirteen murals depict Verrazzano's discovery of Staten Island in 1524; Henry Hudson's 1609 visit aboard the Dutch ship Halve Maen ; two panels showing stoic Lenape natives trading furs for trinkets; French Huguenot farmers; British Admiral Howe taking charge of the island in 1776 and creating Fort Hill; the 1776 peace conference among Howe, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and Edward Rutledge at the Conference House in Tottenville; the so-called Battle of St. Andrew's; British ships departing during Evacuation Day in 1783; the erection of Fort Richmond and Fort Tompkins in anticipation of the War of 1812; a stagecoach stopping at the Black Horse Tavern, which had been destroyed to accommodate road widening in 1934, three years prior to the 1937 painting; the Hotel Castleton, run by freed black men in the 19th century and destroyed by fire in 1907; the first Clifton to Tottenville railroad in 1860; and, finally, the Bayonne Bridge, showing a snappily-dressed Othmar Ammann, the bridge's designer, watching its construction sometime between 1928 and 1931. [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Staten Island</span> Borough in New York City and county in New York, United States

Staten Island is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull and from the rest of New York by New York Bay. With a population of 495,747 in the 2020 Census, Staten Island is the least populated borough but the third largest in land area at 58.5 sq mi (152 km2).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tottenville, Staten Island</span> Neighborhood of Staten Island in New York City

Tottenville is a neighborhood on the South Shore of Staten Island, New York City. It is the southernmost settlement in both New York City and New York State. Tottenville is bounded on three sides by water: the south side abuts the New York Bight while the west and north sides are bordered by the Arthur Kill. Nassau Place, Bethel Avenue and Page Avenue form the neighborhood's eastern border.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. George, Staten Island</span> Neighborhood of Staten Island in New York City

St. George is a neighborhood on the northeastern tip of Staten Island in New York City, along the waterfront where the Kill Van Kull enters Upper New York Bay. It is the most densely developed neighborhood on Staten Island, and the location of the administrative center for the borough and for the coterminous Richmond County. The St. George Terminal, serving the Staten Island Ferry and the Staten Island Railway, is also located here. St. George is bordered on the south by the neighborhood of Tompkinsville and on the west by the neighborhood of New Brighton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Utrecht, Brooklyn</span>

New Utrecht was a town in western Long Island, New York encompassing all or part of the present-day Bath Beach, Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst, Borough Park, Dyker Heights and Fort Hamilton neighborhoods of Brooklyn, New York City. New Utrecht was established in 1652 by Dutch settlers in the Dutch colony of New Netherland, the last of the original six towns to be founded in Kings County. New Utrecht ceased to exist in 1894 when it was annexed by the City of Brooklyn, and became part of the City of Greater New York when Brooklyn joined as a borough in 1898.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Brighton, Staten Island</span> Neighborhood of Staten Island in New York City

New Brighton is a neighborhood located on the North Shore of Staten Island in New York City. The neighborhood comprises an older industrial and residential harbor front area along the Kill Van Kull west of St. George. New Brighton is bounded by Kill Van Kull on the north, Jersey Street on the east, Brighton and Castleton Avenues to the south, and Lafayette Avenue and Snug Harbor Cultural Center to the west. It is adjacent to St. George to the east, Tompkinsville to the south, and West New Brighton to the west.

Prince's Bay is the name of a neighborhood located on the South Shore of New York City's borough of Staten Island. Prince's Bay is bordered to the north by Huguenot, to the south by the Raritan Bay, and to the west by Pleasant Plains. The neighborhood is represented in the New York State Senate by Andrew Lanza, in the New York State Assembly by Michael Reilly, and in the New York City Council by Joe Borelli.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conference House</span> Historic house in Staten Island, New York

Conference House is a stone house in Tottenville, Staten Island, New York City built by Captain Christopher Billopp some time before 1680. It is located in Conference House Park near Ward's Point, the southernmost tip of New York State on Staten Island, which became known as "Billop's Point" in the 18th century.

Grymes Hill is a 374 feet (114 m) tall hill formed of serpentine rock on Staten Island, New York. It is the second highest natural point on the island and in the five boroughs of New York City. The neighborhood of the same name encompasses an area of 0.894 square miles (2.32 km2) and has a population of 8,263 people. The hill also includes parts of the Silver Lake neighborhood. The area includes part of ZIP Codes 10301 and 10304.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sailors' Snug Harbor</span> Cultural center in Staten Island, New York

Sailors' Snug Harbor, also known as Sailors Snug Harbor and informally as Snug Harbor, is a collection of architecturally significant 19th-century buildings on Staten Island, New York City. The buildings are set in an 83-acre (34 ha) park along the Kill Van Kull in New Brighton, on the North Shore of Staten Island. Some of the buildings and the grounds are used by arts organizations under the umbrella of the Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Crimson Beech</span> House in Staten Island, New York

The Crimson Beech is a house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright located in the Lighthouse Hill neighborhood of the New York City borough of Staten Island. Its original owners, Catherine and William Cass, had it manufactured by Marshall Erdman in kit form in Madison, Wisconsin and shipped to Staten Island where it was erected in 1959. It is the only residence designed by Wright in New York City and one of eleven Marshall Erdman Prefab Houses that were built. The particular model is known as the Prefab #1.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Sargent (architect)</span> American architect

Edward A. Sargent was an English-born American architect, known for his work on New York City schools, churches, office buildings, clubs, armory and country homes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conference House Park</span> Public park in Staten Island, New York

Conference House Park is a park in Tottenville, Staten Island, New York City. The park is located along the Arthur Kill coast where the kill opens into Raritan Bay. It contains clay bluffs, part of the terminal moraine, formed when the Wisconsin Glacier receded 10,000 years ago. Ward's Point, the southernmost point in New York state, is in the park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Staten Island Museum</span> General interest museum in New York, United States

Staten Island Museum is Staten Island’s oldest cultural institution, and the only remaining general interest museum in New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christopher House (Staten Island)</span>

The Christopher House is a stone masonry farmhouse at Historic Richmond Town in Staten Island, New York City. It is associated with two of the oldest Staten Island families. It was also used as a meeting place during the American Revolution, while being the residence of Joseph Christopher, a member of the Richmond County Committee of Safety from 1775-1776. It was moved to Historic Richmond Town in late 1969 and restored for museum presentation from 1975-1977.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boehm House</span>

The Boehm House is an historic house at 75 Arthur Kill Road in the Richmondtown section of the borough of Staten Island in New York City. This 1750 house, relocated from Greenridge as a part of Historic Richmondtown, was typical of rural New York during the American Revolution. Also on view in the house: an exhibit of early building techniques and restorations. It was designated a New York City landmark in 1969 as the "Boehm-Frost House".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richmond County Courthouse (Staten Island)</span> United States historic place

The Richmond County Courthouse is a 1919 municipal courthouse in the civic center of St. George on Staten Island in New York City. It serves Richmond County, which is coextensive with the borough of Staten Island. The neoclassical style courthouse is on Richmond Terrace next to Staten Island's Borough Hall and across the street from the St. George Terminal of the Staten Island Ferry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christ Church New Brighton (Episcopal)</span> United States historic place

Christ Church New Brighton (Episcopal) is a historic Episcopal church complex at 76 Franklin Avenue in New Brighton, Staten Island, New York. The complex consists of a Late Victorian Gothic church (1904) and parish hall, connected to the church by an enclosed cloister, and a Tudor-style rectory (built 1879 and remodeled in 1909).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bronx County Courthouse</span> United States historic place

The Bronx County Courthouse, also known as the Mario Merola Building, is an historic courthouse building located in the Concourse and Melrose neighborhoods of the Bronx in New York City. It was designed in 1931 and built between 1931 and 1934. It is a nine-story limestone building on a rusticated granite base in the Art Deco style. It has four identical sides, an interior court, and a frieze designed by noted sculptor Charles Keck. The sculptures on the 161st Street side are by noted sculptor George Holburn Snowden. Two sculptural groups on the Walton Avenue side are by noted sculptor Joseph Kiselewski. Kiselewski collaborated with Adolph A. Weinman to create the work. The Bronx Museum of the Arts was once located on the main floor. The building stands two blocks east-southeast of Yankee Stadium, and across 161st Street from Joyce Kilmer Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Perth Amboy Ferry Slip</span> United States historic place

The Perth Amboy Ferry Slip, located on the Arthur Kill in Perth Amboy, Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States, was once a vital ferry slip for boats in New York Harbor. It was added to the New Jersey Register of Historic Places and National Register of Historic Places in 1978. The ferry slip was restored in 1998 to its 1904 appearance. A replica of the ticket office has been constructed and is used as a small museum.

This is a timeline of Staten Island.

References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. "DCAS Managed Public Buildings: Staten Island Borough Hall". NYC.gov. Archived from the original on 2012-11-06. Retrieved 2012-10-04.
  3. "Landmark Site: Borough of Staten Island Tax Map Block 7, Lot 1" (PDF). Neighborhood Preservation Center. Landmarks Preservation Commission. 23 March 1982. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 July 2022. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
  4. Palmer-Smith, Glenn (2013-10-08). Murals of New York City: The Best of New York's Public Paintings from Bemelmans to Parrish. New York: Rizzoli International Publications. p. 131. ISBN   978-0-8478-4148-6. OCLC   832278387. OL   26181425M.