128-680: The David N. Dinkins Municipal Building (originally the Municipal Building and later known as the Manhattan Municipal Building ) is a 40-story, 580-foot (180 m) building at 1 Centre Street , east of Chambers Street , in the Civic Center neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City . The structure was built to accommodate increased governmental space demands after the 1898 consolidation of
256-418: A globe . She carries various symbolic items: a shield bearing the New York City coat of arms , a branch of leaves, and a mural crown , which she holds aloft. The mural crown has five crenellations or turrets , which evoke city walls and represent the five boroughs . The crown also includes dolphins as a symbol of "New York's maritime setting". Audrey Munson posed for the figure; she had also posed for
384-713: A $ 916,650 grant from the Public Works Administration in 1938. By the next year, the building could no longer accommodate all of the city government's agencies, several of which were located in alternate quarters surrounding Foley Square to the north. The offices in the Municipal Building included radio station WNYC on the 25th floor, the Municipal Reference Library on the 22nd floor, and the Marriage Chapel on
512-482: A City Hall site. The committee ultimately received 134 plans for such a new building, with six of these being selected as finalists. In response to opposition to City Hall's demolition, the New York governor signed a law in 1894 that once again prohibited the municipal building's construction. The six finalist submissions were supposed to receive monetary prizes, but ran into difficulty even collecting their awards, since
640-498: A bazaar-like atmosphere from the many used clothing shops and pawnbrokerages open by recently immigrated Jews from Germany and central Europe. This gave rise to anti-Semitic caricatures, although many New Yorkers could not distinguish German Jews from other Germans . Chatham Street was also the site of several anti-African American incidents, as in the 1863 New York City draft riots , during which rioters were repulsed in their attempt to attack black waiters at Crook's Restaurant on
768-451: A body of fresh water that was the nascent city's primary supply of drinking water, covering approximately 48 acres (190,000 m ) and running as deep as 50 feet (15 m). The pond was located just north of today's Foley Square and just west of modern Chinatown. It had been drained and the new street grid built over it a decade earlier. However, there was no street built between Pearl and Reade Streets. Cross Street (which came over from
896-437: A cafeteria on the 26th floor in 1918; although the city provided no subsidies to the cafeteria, the cafeteria also did not have to pay rent. Radio station WNYC (AM) started broadcasting from the 24th floor in 1924, remaining there for 85 years, and a small hospital was established on the third floor in 1929. The Municipal Building's size notwithstanding, various entities had proposed to build an even larger municipal skyscraper to
1024-413: A ceiling of at least 20 feet (6.1 m). The commissioner also recommended that the first story of each level be at ground level, and that an above-ground level be provided for mechanical equipment and building systems. The contestants were otherwise given "considerable freedom" for the building's design. By December 1907, several architects had submitted plans. Twelve architectural firms ultimately entered
1152-494: A chokehold on an entire neighborhood and suggesting that One Police Plaza be moved from a residential area. Members of the Civic Center Residents Coalition fought the security perimeter around One Police Plaza for years. Park Row reopened for foot traffic and MTA buses in 2005, although only 200 buses per day were allowed on the street, and they had to pass through security checkpoints. In 2007,
1280-510: A competition to design the building in conjunction with a subway and trolley terminal at the Brooklyn Bridge , of which McKim, Mead & White's plan was selected. The first offices in the Municipal Building were occupied by 1913. In later years, it received several renovations, including elevator replacements in the 1930s and restorations in the mid-1970s and the late 1980s. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated
1408-463: A depth of 130 feet (40 m), while the average depth of the bedrock under the building was about 144 feet (44 m). The contract for the foundations was the largest to be awarded for a single building in the United States, with 140,000 cubic yards (110,000 m) being excavated at a cost of $ 1.5 million. The foundations incorporated 50,000 cubic yards (38,000 m) of concrete for
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#17327649509141536-415: A flood on the fourth floor in 1959 destroyed brand-new machinery that processed the pay checks for the building's workers. Lionel Moses, appraising McKim, Mead & White's work in 1922, said that "we have a building of 580 feet to the top of the figure, of superbly monumental character and classic beauty, every part of which attests the architectural knowledge of its designers". In particular, Moses praised
1664-458: A jury of three architects, whose names would not be published in advance. The Commissioner of Bridges would make a final decision based on the jury's recommendation. The building had to be at least 20 stories; the superstructure could not block train tracks, stairways, or platforms ; the route of Chambers Street under the building had to be preserved; and the first floor, to be used for transit and building entrances, had to be completely covered, with
1792-473: A large municipal office building in early 1890, and that July, a committee of the city government was created to look for alternate sites. The committee published a report in October 1890, outlining three possible sites on Chambers Street. The first option was southwest of Chambers Street and Broadway; the second, northwest of Chambers and Centre Streets; and the third, northeast of Chambers and Centre Streets (at
1920-556: A new municipal building. In July 1907, Lindenthal—who had already secured a new plot of land for the Brooklyn Bridge trolley hub—was authorized by the state legislature to host a fourth and final design competition for the municipal building. The Brooklyn loop line , a four-track subway line, was planned to be built under the site as well, passing through a large five-platform station at Chambers Street. Twelve or thirteen architects were invited to compete. They would in turn elect
2048-504: A newspaper established by women's rights activists Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton , was also headquartered on Park Row, at 27 Chatham Street. The decline of Park Row as a newspaper hub began in 1895, when the Herald moved to Herald Square . Ten years later, in 1905, the Times moved to its new headquarters at One Times Square . The Tribune moved uptown in 1923, while
2176-522: A plot immediately to the south of the current site, bounded by Park Row, the Brooklyn Bridge, and North William Street. The final plan called for the building to be located between Park Row, Centre Street, and Duane Street, with Chambers Street running under the Municipal Building's center. The city government planned to occupy 11 of the building's 23 stories. By late 1908, the site was being cleared. Bids for foundation work were opened in December 1908, and
2304-531: A skylight, and landed on the 26th-floor cafeteria in February 1935, the statue was renovated, with metal rods being used to hold up the left arm. The sculpture was refurbished and re-gilded starting in July 1974 at a cost of $ 294,500, as part of the interior renovations of the Municipal Building; the restoration was completed by the end of the year. In early 1991, while the facade was undergoing renovations, Civic Fame
2432-609: A structure adjacent to City Hall itself, in City Hall Park . Mayor Abram Hewitt appointed a commission to study suitable plans and plots of land in 1888, although Hewitt opposed putting such a building anywhere except City Hall Park. The commissioners of the Sinking Fund initially approved a municipal building east of the Tweed Courthouse , at the park's northeastern corner. An architectural design competition
2560-401: A torch in one hand and a winged sphere in the other, and Prudence , a half-nude kneeling woman holding a mirror while a serpent is curled around her right arm. The medallions each measure about 9 feet (2.7 m) wide and are placed immediately below the colonnade's architrave . There are heroic-scaled winged figures in the spandrels above the main arch: Guidance , a depiction of a female in
2688-552: A very large number of other important allegorical Beaux-Arts sculptures in New York, including those at the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House , New York Public Library Main Branch , Manhattan Bridge Colonnade , and USS Maine National Monument at Columbus Circle . The left arm was repaired in 1928 after cracks were detected on that side. After Civic Fame's 150-pound (68 kg) left arm broke off, fell through
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#17327649509142816-469: A width of 168.5 feet (51.4 m), measured from west to east. The northeastern and southeastern sides accommodated the diagonal paths of Duane Street and Park Row, respectively. The floors' north–south axes are longer than their west–east axes; the wings of the "C" face west. This floor plan ensured that all of the building's windows would be able to receive direct sunlight and eliminated the need for an interior light court . The Manhattan Municipal Building
2944-469: Is 34 stories tall; the main structure consists of 26 stories, and a tower rises eight stories above the center of the structure. The top of the main structure is about 349 feet (106 m) above ground level. The tower rises to around 560 feet (170 m) above ground level; including the Civic Fame statue, the building stands at around 580 feet (180 m) tall. Atop the northern and southern wings of
3072-479: Is a street located in the Financial District , Civic Center , and Chinatown neighborhoods of the New York City borough of Manhattan . The street runs east–west, sometimes called north–south because the western end bends to the south. At the north end of Park Row is the confluence of Bowery , East Broadway , St. James Place, Oliver Street, Mott Street , and Worth Street at Chatham Square . At
3200-430: Is freestanding and is flanked by 16 three-quarter columns, each measuring about 6 feet (1.8 m) wide and 52 feet (16 m) tall. Early plans called for statuary above the colonnade, similar to the statuary above St. Peter's Basilica . There is also a false colonnade on the facade above the 22nd floor. Weinman sculpted the rectangular allegorical bas-relief panels at the base of the building, which are located above
3328-733: Is headquartered at 1 Police Plaza located on Park Row, across the street from the Manhattan Municipal Building and Metropolitan Correctional Center . Two apartment buildings of significance on Park Row are the Chatham Towers at no. 170, built in 1965 and designed by Kelly & Gruzen, which, according to the AIA Guide to New York City , makes a "strong architectural statement...[which] rouses great admiration and great criticism," and Chatham Green at 185 Park Row, built in 1961 and also designed by Kelly & Gruzen. The segment of Park Row between Frankfort Street and Chatham Square
3456-406: Is made of ashlar granite, except for the details above the 23rd floor, which are made of terracotta. A three-story colonnade of Corinthian columns runs across the base along Centre Street, and the rest of the building is set back behind the colonnade. The colonnade averages 66 feet (20 m) tall, including pedestals, and is topped by a carved entablature . The central portion of the colonnade
3584-710: Is now residential. Additionally, the Museum of Chinese in America is located at 215 Centre Street, in Chinatown. The uptown M1 runs on Centre Street between Grand Street and Cleveland Place. The westbound M22 runs from Reade to Chambers Streets. The BMT Nassau Street Line runs under Centre Street south of Kenmare Street , stopping at Canal Street and Chambers Street . 40°43′02″N 74°00′02″W / 40.71722°N 74.00056°W / 40.71722; -74.00056 Park Row (Manhattan) Park Row
3712-457: Is now used by Pace University. The New Yorker Staats-Zeitung moved to its own building at 17 Chatham Street at almost the same time as the Times moved into its new building. The Park Row Building (also known as 15 Park Row) is located at the western end of Park Row, opposite City Hall Park . Designed by noted architect R. H. Robertson , and built in 1896-99, It was designated a city landmark in 1999. At 391 feet (119 m) tall it
3840-426: Is one of the largest governmental buildings in the world, with about 1 million square feet (93,000 m) of office space. The base incorporates a subway station, while the top includes the gilded Civic Fame statue. The Municipal Building was erected after three previous competitions to build a single municipal building for New York City's government had failed. In 1907, the city's Commissioner of Bridges held
3968-460: Is open only to MTA buses and government and emergency vehicles and has been closed to civilian traffic since the September 11, 2001, attacks . The NYPD asserts that this is necessary to protect its headquarters from a truck bomb attack. Nearby Chinatown residents were increasingly frustrated at the disruption caused by the closure of the thoroughfare, arguing that the police department has placed
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4096-806: Is the Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse (home of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ), 60 and 80 Centre Street are the civil division of the New York County Supreme Court , and 100 Centre Street is the criminal division of the New York County Supreme Court. That courthouse lent its address to a short-lived TV show of the same name . The courthouse is also home to
4224-526: Is used for offices. The Municipal Building was the first in New York City to incorporate a subway station, the Chambers Street station , below its base. The approved building plans in 1909 also called for three basement levels within the volume not occupied by the subway station. The building features various types of sculpture and relief. These include the large gilded Civic Fame statue at
4352-543: The New York Herald and The Sun , were near Newspaper Row but not actually housed on Park Row itself. The newspapers on Chatham Street were among the first to construct early skyscrapers for their headquarters, reflecting their newfound wealth. The first of these major newspaper buildings, the New York Tribune Building , opened in 1875 as a nine-story, 260-foot (79 m) structure;
4480-545: The City Hall station of the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (closed 1953). After the Municipal Building was finished, New Chambers Street ran through the building's central archway . Park Row bounded the building to the southeast and Duane Street abutted it to the northeast. Park Row was rerouted in the mid-20th century, and New Chambers and Duane Streets were closed in 1971 as part of
4608-462: The Civic Center , Chinatown , and Little Italy neighborhoods of Lower Manhattan . It connects Park Row to the south with Cleveland Place to the north. Centre Street carries northbound traffic north of Reade Street and two-way traffic between Reade Street and the Brooklyn Bridge . In the early 19th century there was no Centre Street. The area was previously occupied by the Collect Pond ,
4736-569: The Democratic-Republican Party , founded by Thomas Jefferson , on election days. Those who gathered there became known as "Martling Men", "Tammanyites" or "Bucktails", especially during the time that Tammany was attempting to wrest control of the party away from governor De Witt Clinton . In the 1780s, Chatham Street was the site of the Tea Water Pump, a privately owned company which took water from Fresh Water Pond,
4864-522: The World shuttered in 1931. The Journal of Commerce , the last remaining newspaper to publish from Park Row, moved from its headquarters in the World Building in 1953. Until 1971, Park Row continued in a relatively straight path, except for a curved portion around the Brooklyn Bridge's ramps. Between 1971 and 1973, a pedestrian plaza was built as part of 1 Police Plaza , after which Park Row
4992-421: The "C" are pavilion roofs, which are connected to the central tower with roof decks and a stone cornice. The central tower is composed of a two-story square section. Atop this is a circular section flanked by four circular turrets, one above each corner of the square. The circular section of the central tower is composed of two layers: an enclosed space surrounded by columns, atop which is a smaller peristyle . On
5120-485: The 25th floor in 1911, which at the time was the highest fire the New York City Fire Department had fought. Steel frame construction took place between June 1910 and July 1911, followed by the installation of exterior walls between March 1911 and November 1912. There were delays in installing the granite facade because the original materials were found to be inferior. By 1913, the superstructure
5248-451: The 25th story, where a separate elevator connected the 25th through 37th floors. During the 1934 elevator replacements, eight of the elevator shafts were shortened to make way for office space. Because the basement is mostly taken up by the subway station, most of the mechanical equipment is located on the fourth floor. As such, the fourth floor has a much lower ceiling than the other stories. The basement contains some space for boilers, while
Manhattan Municipal Building - Misplaced Pages Continue
5376-471: The 2nd floor. In 1949, the city's commissioner of public works announced that four floors would be renovated and modernized in the first phase of a planned multi-stage overhaul. The next year, the city began installing a dial-telephone system at the Municipal Building, replacing the fourteen old telephone switchboards. At the time, the 20 city agencies in the building had a collective 1,264 telephones. The new switchboards were activated in 1951, and every line in
5504-461: The Corinthian colonnade at the base". In their 2004 book New York Artwalks , Marina Harrison and Lucy D. Rosenfeld described the Civic Fame statue as "a graceful and unusually charming sculpture in the allegorical style of municipal-building decorations". Centre Street (Manhattan) Centre Street is a north–south street in the New York City borough of Manhattan , running through
5632-484: The Municipal Building was given the same 10-digit phone number with 1,426 four-digit extensions ; the number was changed in 1963 when the city government consolidated about 7,000 phone extensions in Lower Manhattan. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the building as an official city landmark in 1966, and the facade was again cleaned the next year for $ 400,000. The Municipal Building
5760-538: The Municipal Building's construction, several streets passed through the building site, which had been located at the south end of the Five Points neighborhood. New Chambers Street continued east through the center of the building, while the west-east Reade Street continued eastward through what is now the building's northern edge. City Hall Place (now Cardinal Hayes Place) originated at the intersection of Chambers and Centre Streets, crossing southwest–northeast through
5888-581: The Municipal Building's roof is Civic Fame , a 25-foot-tall (7.6 m) statue installed in March 1913. The statue is a gilded copper figure, made from about 500 pieces of hammered copper executed by the Manhattan firm of Broschart & Braun. The statue is variously reported to be supported on an iron skeleton and made over a steel frame. Civic Fame has been variously described as the largest or second-largest statue in Manhattan , depending on whether
6016-406: The Municipal Building, in civil ceremonies lasting about four minutes. The City Clerk's Office relocated to nearby 141 Worth Street in 2009. Numerous accidents have occurred at the Municipal Building. In 1921, an elevator overturned, killing its two occupants. A pile of coal stored in bunkers underneath the building caught fire in 1942, and a 2005 fire slightly injured six firefighters. Additionally,
6144-523: The NYPD stated that it would not be moving despite the numerous complaints from residents, explaining that they had tried to alleviate the impact of the security measures by forbidding officers from parking in nearby public spaces and by reopening a stairway that skirts the headquarters' south side and leads down to street level near the Brooklyn Bridge . The department also planned to redesign its guard booths and security barriers to make them more attractive, and
6272-473: The administration of mayor Seth Low when he left office at the end of 1903. By early 1907, the Hall of Records had been completed, but there was still not enough space for the city's important files; further, the city was paying large amounts for rent in private buildings. Officials pointed out that the cramped quarters of the city government's departments posed a fire hazard, and legislation had been proposed for
6400-483: The area were The New York Times , which in 1857 became the first New York City newspaper to be housed in a structure built specially for its use. Part of the southern section of the street, centered on the intersection with Spruce Street, was known as Printing House Square . The newspapers housed on Newspaper Row, combined, printed more than 250,000 copies per day at their peak, leading the area to be considered "America's preeminent press center". Other papers, such as
6528-496: The building a landmark in 1966, and it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. In October 2015, the building was renamed after David N. Dinkins , New York City's first African-American mayor. The Manhattan Municipal Building is located on the eastern side of Centre Street , in the Civic Center of Manhattan in New York City . It occupies the length of two city blocks, between Duane Street to
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#17327649509146656-404: The building had "peeling walls, musty windows and old filing cabinets". Because the air conditioning rarely worked, many employees typically left the building an hour early during the summer. A piece of granite fell from the Municipal Building in 1987, landing on a ramp on the Brooklyn Bridge, although no one was injured. A subsequent investigation found other loose rocks on the facade, and netting
6784-660: The building site. The area to the south of the Municipal Building was once known as Tryon Row, a one-block east–west street between Centre Street and Park Row . The Municipal Building's site was occupied by buildings including the old headquarters of the New Yorker Staats-Zeitung . Immediately to the south were two elevated railway stations: the Park Row Terminal of the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (closed 1944) and
6912-477: The building's original occupants. A large, arched vaulted corridor is located at the center of the building's base, at the eastern end of Chambers Street, and is flanked by two smaller arched vaults. The arch measures about 50 feet (15 m) tall and 35 feet (11 m) wide. It is designed in the neoclassical style like the Arch of Constantine . The vault was large enough to accommodate New Chambers Street, which
7040-496: The caissons was 145 feet (44 m) below grade; for the northern part of the site, the Foundation Company built larger caissons resting on sand at a depth of 74 feet (23 m). While the caissons under the southern two-thirds of the building carry 15 short tons per square foot (150 t/m), the larger caissons under the northern third of the building carry only 6 short tons per square foot (59 t/m). Each caisson
7168-407: The city government was involved. Mayor John Purroy Mitchel , after taking office in 1914, criticized the usage of space in the Municipal Building as "wasteful". Some of the city departments that were scheduled to move into the building had found space elsewhere, and other city departments had been allotted less space in the building than in their previous quarters; as such, only 28 percent of the space
7296-400: The city had never formally accepted the committee's report on the finalists. In 1899, architect George B. Post proposed a municipal office tower to be built at the northeast corner of Chambers and Centre Streets, while preserving City Hall, as part of a greater plan to rearrange Lower Manhattan's streets. The next March, state senator Patrick H. McCarren proposed a bill that would construct
7424-623: The city's five boroughs . Construction began in 1909 and continued through 1914 at a total cost of $ 12 million (equivalent to $ 269,713,000 in 2023). Designed by McKim, Mead & White , the Manhattan Municipal Building was among the last buildings erected as part of the City Beautiful movement in New York. Its architectural style has been characterized as Roman Imperial , Italian Renaissance , French Renaissance , or Beaux-Arts . The Municipal Building
7552-426: The city's only supply of fresh water, and which remained purer longer than some of the other sources which drew from the pond. Chatham Street was also a center for entertainment. In 1798, Marc Isambard Brunel designed the 2,000-seat Park Theater on Chatham Street, intended to attract the upper classes of the city. The theater cost $ 130,000 to build, and tickets were 25 cents for seats in the gallery, and 50 cents in
7680-540: The civic construction of other American cities, has been "variously described as Roman Imperial , Italian Renaissance , French Renaissance , or Beaux-Arts ", according to architectural writers Sarah Landau and Carl W. Condit . Its construction marked the end of the City Beautiful movement in New York. The Municipal Building is one of the largest governmental buildings in the world, with about 1 million square feet (93,000 m) of interior space and 2,000 employees. Of this, about 600,000 square feet (56,000 m)
7808-458: The competition, while Cass Gilbert withdrew. The jury selected McKim, Mead & White's proposal in April 1908. The firm's design provided the most space for the city government, and it was similar in style to other municipal buildings of the time. The proposal included offices facing outward on all sides, a colonnade, a monument at the top, and a subway station in the basement. The winning design
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#17327649509147936-425: The construction of 1 Police Plaza. These streets subsequently became part of a pedestrian plaza surrounding the Municipal Building and 1 Police Plaza. William M. Kendall of the architectural firm McKim, Mead & White designed the Municipal Building. Two of the firm's other partners, Burt L. Fenner and Teunis J. van der Bent, were tasked with leading construction, while the city's Department of Bridges supervised
8064-409: The contract was awarded to the J. H. Gray Company. The original building plans were rejected by the city's buildings superintendent the same month because he felt that the underlying layer of soil and sand was not strong enough to carry the building. The architects did not want to spend another $ 300,000 just so the foundation would extend down to the bedrock. This resulted in delays in the construction of
8192-441: The corner with Chambers Street, for use by the city government. The government, desiring to cut down the amount of rent paid to private landlords, ultimately held four design competitions for a new, massive building that would be suitable to house many agencies under one roof. As early as 1885, a commission was empowered to look for plots of land where such a structure could be built, and by 1887, authorities were considering erecting
8320-511: The current building's location). The committee recommended the third option, which would be the cheapest and offer the most floor area, as well as provide an opportunity for redevelopment at that location. However, the city government decided in March 1893 that the municipal building would instead replace City Hall, with two wings extending north to flank the Tweed Courthouse, despite the committee's recommendation and public objections to
8448-572: The early 1990s. The building was renamed after David N. Dinkins , New York City's first African-American mayor, upon his 88th birthday in October 2015. The following New York City public offices are located in the Manhattan Municipal Building: The Office of the City Clerk was formerly housed in the Municipal Building; about 16,000 weddings were performed annually at the former Manhattan Marriage Bureau in
8576-487: The east; except for Centre Street, all of these streets have been relocated or removed. Near the Municipal Building are the Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse and St. Andrew Church to the northeast; 1 Police Plaza and the Metropolitan Correctional Center to the east; Surrogate's Courthouse and Tweed Courthouse to the west; and New York City Hall to the southwest. Prior to
8704-406: The elevated tracks on the Brooklyn Bridge, but the connection was never opened. While the layer of bedrock under the Municipal Building was quite close to the surface underneath the southern part of the building, the bedrock dropped to a depth of about 180 feet (55 m) under the northern portion of the site, where it would be extremely difficult to dig caissons . A layer of sand was present to
8832-479: The elevators are controlled by a dispatching room on the 26th floor. There are also four emergency-exit staircases. Each story was constructed with either 27,000 square feet (2,500 m) or 31,000 square feet (2,900 m) of rentable office space. The materials in the Municipal Building included 400,000 square feet (37,000 m) of hollow-tile partitions, 500,000 square feet (46,000 m) of cement flooring, 60,000 square feet (5,600 m) of asphalt flooring in
8960-437: The elevators were being replaced, city employees worked in three staggered shifts. Some of the shafts above the 14th floor were removed to make way for office space. The first group of seven new elevators was installed in April 1936, and the elevator-replacement project was completed at the end of 1937. The city government conducted other renovations during the 1930s, cleaning the facade for the first time in 1936. Civic Fame at
9088-565: The elevators, which were described as "old and wheezy", and acting like " Coney Island roller coasters". After fourteen of the elevators were taken out of service in late 1934, architect Mitchell Bernstein filed plans in January 1935 for a $ 160,000 renovation of the building's elevators and offices. Work began that June and was funded partially with a $ 1.8 million grant from the Works Progress Administration . While
9216-401: The fact that the firm could create a large office building on "a comparatively small plot of irregular shape", which could still accommodate a subway station, a public street, and mechanical equipment. The 1939 WPA Guide to New York City stated that the facade "gains dignity through the bold treatment of the intermediate stories, despite the poorly related tower and the disturbing character of
9344-537: The first decade of the 20th century. Two other buildings on Park Row were also part of Newspaper Row but not built specifically for newspapers' use. The Potter Building , at 38 Park Row, contained tenants such as The Press , a Republican Party –affiliated penny paper , as well as The New York Observer . The Park Row Building , at 15 Park Row, housed the early headquarters of the Associated Press , founded by Moses Yale Beach . The Revolution ,
9472-555: The first floor, spanning the subway station. The girders were connected to other steel beams, which distributed the building's entire weight to the caissons. Each of the first-floor girders were about 10 feet (3.0 m) deep and grouped in sets of two or three. The Municipal Building's largest girders, supporting the Chambers Street arch, were 36 feet (11 m) long and up to 11 feet (3.4 m) deep; these girders weighed as much as 50 short tons (45 long tons; 45 t). Above
9600-399: The girders and caissons are 167 columns that rise through the upper stories. The largest column in the superstructure measured 34 feet (10 m) long and weighed 34 short tons (30 long tons; 31 t). Except for the fourth story, all of the upper floors were devoted to offices. The elevator banks and stairs were on the eastern side of the building, while the offices were concentrated along
9728-500: The headquarters of the New-York Tribune was then the city's second-tallest building after Trinity Church . After the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge in 1883, Park Row was the site of the large Park Row Terminal for the elevated trains and cable-hauled shuttle cars which crossed the bridge. Service was gradually reduced from 1913 to 1940, and the terminal was demolished in 1944. The next major structure to open
9856-522: The larger Statue of Liberty is considered as being in Manhattan. It is similar in style to the Statue of Liberty. The statue was designed by Adolph Alexander Weinman (1870–1952). It was commissioned by the New York City government at a cost of $ 9,000 (equivalent to $ 277,000 in 2023) to celebrate the consolidation of the five boroughs into the City of New York. The figure is barefoot and balances upon
9984-405: The left spandrel, and Executive Power , a depiction of a male in the right spandrel. The colonnade is topped by a frieze averaging 64 feet (20 m) high. The word "Manhattan" is inscribed on the frieze immediately above the three arches; it is flanked by inscriptions reading "New Amsterdam" and "New York". Shields relating to Manhattan's historical and current governance were also placed above
10112-529: The lower-story colonnade and 22nd-floor false colonnade. The shields represent the historical colony of New Amsterdam and the Province of New York , as well as the present-day county, city, and state of New York (the county of New York being coextensive with the borough of Manhattan). The shields on the lower colonnade correspond with the tops of the columns. On the facade itself, the second-story windows are flanked by six pairs of figures in relief , representing
10240-502: The most elaborate of which was by McKim, Mead & White . Additionally, in 1903, the city's bridge commissioner Gustav Lindenthal hired George Post and Henry Hornbostel as architects for a planned trolley hub at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge , just east of City Hall. This plan also involved constructing a 45-story municipal office tower with a campanile at Chambers and Centre Streets. The site would have cost $ 6.7 million. The municipal building and trolley hub plans were deferred by
10368-420: The municipal building on the blocks bounded by Broadway and Reade, Centre, and Chambers Streets, north of the Tweed Courthouse and west of the current building's site. The structure would replace 280 Broadway and the old Emigrant Industrial Savings Bank Building , incorporate the then-under-construction Hall of Records, and would also entail destroying the Tweed Courthouse. Several architects submitted proposals,
10496-521: The municipal reference library, had 34,000 square feet (3,200 m) of cork flooring to reduce noise. In later years, the hallways and offices were re-clad in plasterboard and sectioned into small cubicles , but the building retained such elements as its ornate marble bathrooms. By the late 19th century, New York City governmental functions had outgrown New York City Hall . At the time, the city government's agencies rented space in various buildings from Downtown Manhattan up to Midtown Manhattan , with
10624-460: The nearby area that would several years later be dubbed the " Five Points ") ran all the way through to Reade, and a single block ran from Reade to Chambers, and afterwards turned east and ran into Chatham Street (future Park Row ). In the previous century, this block, then ending at the Collect Pond, was labeled "Potter's Hill". North of Pearl Street, a separate street occupying the alignment
10752-418: The north and the Brooklyn Bridge ramps to the south. The west–east Chambers Street has its eastern terminus at Centre Street, at the center of the building's base. The site had a frontage of approximately 448 feet (137 m) on Centre Street to the west, 361 ft (110 m) on Park Row to the southeast, 339 ft (103 m) on Duane Street to the northeast, and 71 ft (22 m) on Tryon Row to
10880-505: The northern wing is no longer extant, having been enclosed. The Chambers Street subway station, served by the J and Z trains, consists of two levels below the building: the mezzanine and the platform level. The mezzanine connects with the Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall station , which is served by the 4 , 5 , 6 , and <6> trains. The station opened in 1913 and
11008-451: The number of such arrangements increasing by the year. In the 1884 annual report of the City of New York, mayor Franklin Edson declared that more space was urgently needed for governmental functions. He also noted that City Hall's "style of architecture was such that without marring its present symmetry, it couldn't be enlarged to the required extent." Edson suggested buying 280 Broadway , at
11136-636: The office of the Manhattan District Attorney , although its entrance is at 1 Hogan Place. 111 Centre Street is the New York City Civil Court . The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is at 125 Worth Street, at the corner of Centre Street. Farther north, 240 Centre Street was the headquarters of the New York Police Department from 1909 until 1973, although that building
11264-511: The office space owned by the city government. The Municipal Building had become so overcrowded that several agencies, like the Department of Buildings , had been forced to relocate. The facade restoration was undertaken by the architects Wank Adams Slavin. Another restoration of Civic Fame took place during this time, for which Wank Adams Slavin received a preservation award from the city government. The 23rd and 24th stories were renovated in
11392-495: The orchestra. In the early 1800s, more taverns, theaters and small hotels on the street started to offer free entertain to attract customers to drink. These were called "free and easies", "varieties" or "vaudeville" and offered numerous different kinds of performances: comedy, dance, dramatic skits, magic, music, ventriloquism, and tellers of tall tales. New theaters such as the Chatham Theater sprang up as well to attract
11520-422: The outdated plumbing system was to be replaced. The project was to increase the building's capacity to 6,500 employees. During this time, Civic Fame was also renovated. The building had been cleaned by 1975 at a cost of $ 300,000; although the interior had not been renovated yet, more funds for the project had also been appropriated. The building still had 5,000 employees by the late 1970s, but Newsday wrote that
11648-513: The overflow from the entertainment strip on the Bowery. Boxing was also a popular entertainment. The Arena on Park Row packed in fans with its nightly presentation of "the manly art". In the early 19th century, most of the Manhattan portion of the street was suppressed, the Commons became City Hall Park , and the stub of a street was renamed Park Row. By the mid-19th century, the street had
11776-440: The piers, as well as 70,000 barrels of cement. The foundations also include 106 caissons; the southern two-thirds of the site contain 68 caissons extend to the bedrock, while the northern third contains 38 caissons that only extend to the quicksand. The caissons range in size from 6.5 feet (2.0 m) in diameter to 26 by 31 feet (7.9 by 9.4 m) across, extending to an average depth of 130 feet (40 m). The maximum depth of
11904-504: The principal architect of the submission. Originally, the building was to have risen 448 feet (137 m), with 23 stories. The firm revised its plans in 1908, adding two stories and lengthening the spire so the building stood 559 feet (170 m). The modified plans were submitted to the New York City Department of Buildings in October 1908. The city had initially intended to erect the Manhattan Municipal Building on
12032-553: The project as "one of the most important projects the City has ever undertaken". At the time, he predicted that the building would cost $ 8 million. Work on the Municipal Building officially started on July 17, 1909. One observer predicted that the building's construction would result in an increase in real-estate values, similar to what the Flatiron Building had done for the Flatiron District . Foundation work
12160-474: The project. Alexander Johnson was chief engineer, and Purdy and Henderson were consulting engineers. In addition, the Thompson–Starrett Company was the general contractor. The Mount Waldo Construction Company provided the granite, while Robert Wetherill & Co. installed the original elevators. The foundations were dug by the Foundation Company. The building's architectural style , influential in
12288-410: The proposed Brooklyn loop line under the building. Ultimately, the Foundation Company was contracted to dig the foundation with caissons under a very high air pressure of 47 pounds per square inch (320 kPa). Work was done in 20 shifts of five men working for forty minutes each day; only two workers developed decompression sickness and neither of them died. In a January 1909 speech, McClellan praised
12416-521: The road which became Park Row was called Chatham Street, a name that enters into the city's history on numerous occasions. The tobacco industry in New York City got its start in 1760, when Pierre Lorillard opened a snuff factory on Chatham Street, and in 1795, the Long Room of Abraham Martling's Tavern on Chatham Street was one of the first headquarters used by the Tammany Society and
12544-400: The side arches. Civic Duty , above the smaller arch to the right (south) of the center arch, shows a female representation of the city alongside a child holding the city seal . Civic Pride , above the smaller arch to the left (north), depicted the city as a woman "receiving tribute from her citizens". These are respectively topped by medallions representing Progress , a nude kneeling man with
12672-431: The south loggia measured 64 feet (20 m) wide and could accommodate 1,280 passengers per minute, while that under the north loggia was 43 feet (13 m) wide and could accommodate 800 passengers per minute. The loggia under the southern wing still exists, with staircases leading to the subway from both the north and south. It is supported by a set of columns and has a ceiling of white Guastavino tiles . The loggia under
12800-504: The street's south end, Broadway , Vesey Street , Barclay Street, and Ann Street intersect. The intersection includes a bus turnaround loop designated as Millennium Park . Park Row was once known as Chatham Street; it was renamed Park Row in 1886, a reference to the fact that it faces City Hall Park , the former New York Common. In the late 18th century Eastern Post Road became the more important road connecting New York City to Albany and New England to its north. This section of
12928-529: The street. Poverty was also commonplace; in 1890, Jacob Riis revealed in How the Other Half Lives that over 9,000 homeless men lodged nightly on Chatham Street and the Bowery, between City Hall and Cooper Union . During the late 19th century, Park Row was nicknamed Newspaper Row , as most of New York City's newspapers located on the street to be close to City Hall . Among the earlier newspapers in
13056-560: The time of completion were described as state-of-the-art. When the building opened, it employed 500 women and 3,700 men. The structure was supposed to house most city agencies except the Police , Health , and Parks departments, the Aqueduct Commission, and courts. The Parks Department moved to the Municipal Building shortly after the structure was completed; by 1916, the building also had a court that only heard cases in which
13184-449: The top of the Municipal Building was refurbished during the 1930s, and green mercury vapor bulbs were installed in the north lobby. Several Civil Works Administration artists also created paintings for some of the offices. A bronze plaque, memorializing 316 firefighters who died on duty , was dedicated at the building in 1937. The city also planned to add three stories atop the building for $ 2.037 million; to fund this project, it received
13312-404: The top of the building; smaller sculptural groups; and plaques and coats-of-arms representing the various governments that have ruled Manhattan. The building is shaped like a ten-sided "C", although the lot that it occupies is an irregular hexagon. The main facade, along Centre Street to the west, is 381 feet (116 m) long, while the eastern facade is 168 feet (51 m) long. The building has
13440-457: The vault. When the Municipal Building opened, the vault created a wind tunnel effect, leading employees to nickname it the "Cave of the Winds". As constructed, the first floor was devoted entirely to public space, with two open loggias and the two portions of the lobby. Underneath each loggia were two massive staircases leading to the mezzanine of the Chambers Street station. The staircase under
13568-443: The vaults, 340,000 square feet (32,000 m) of plastering, and 160,000 square feet (15,000 m) of Yule marble . Other types of marble, such as Tennessee marble , were used for decorative elements such as the baseboards of the rooms. Steel was painted to resemble wood, while wooden elements were only used for door and window frames. Most of the floors are made of cement, but the fifth floor, originally used for public hearings and
13696-416: The west by the 1930s, but with no success. By 1931, Manhattan borough president Samuel Levy had requested $ 2 million to replace the building's elevators, which were so unreliable that some employees used the emergency stairs instead of the elevators. All of the elevators needed twice-daily inspections, and, since their manufacturer was no longer in business, the city had to make its own replacement parts for
13824-403: The western side and on the north and south wings. There were four staircase shafts that extended the height of the building. In addition, 33 elevators were provided in the initial construction, though this number was later expanded to 37. Of the original elevators, 32 were accessible from the lobby; they were grouped in two banks of 16 cabs each. Most of the elevators from the lobby traveled only to
13952-443: Was topped out with the unveiling of Civic Pride at the top of the Municipal Building's tower. The first sections of the Municipal Building were occupied in mid-1913. The building had not been ready at the beginning of the year, forcing some city departments to renew the leases at their existing quarters. The interiors were not finished until 1916. The building had cost $ 12 million (equivalent to $ 269,713,000 in 2023), which
14080-482: Was a new headquarters for The New York Times at 41 Park Row, which was completed in 1889 and stood 13 stories tall. The third early skyscraper on Newspaper Row was the 20-story New York World Building , the New York World 's headquarters, which at a height of 309 feet (94 m) was the first building in the city to be taller than Trinity Church. The Times and Tribune Buildings were both expanded in
14208-444: Was called "Collect Street". By 1828, it would be renamed Centre Street, but still end at Pearl from the north. As late as 1836, one map would still show this arrangement, but in another the full alignment would be in place. In colloquial usage, "Centre Street" may refer to the several courts or government offices along the street in the vicinity of Foley Square. 1 Centre Street is the Manhattan Municipal Building , 40 Centre Street
14336-585: Was closed in 1971 to make way for a pedestrian plaza in front of One Police Plaza and the Manhattan Municipal Building. The terracotta vault was modeled on the entrance of the Palazzo Farnese in Rome , and was also called the "Gate of the City" after William Jean Beauley painted an image of the scene. The vault separates the lobby into two sections, each with its own set of elevator banks. The second through fifth stories are also divided into two portions by
14464-560: Was commenced for this new building, and seven architects submitted plans. Charles B. Atwood 's winning proposal called for a pair of seven-story pavilions flanking City Hall. The public generally opposed the idea of development in the park, and the plan was voted down by the New York State Senate in February 1890. The law authorizing the new building was modified in 1890 so that the new structure would be able to house other city agencies as well. Mayor Hugh J. Grant proposed
14592-501: Was completed in October 1909, when the New York City Art Commission approved the plans. The Board of Estimate approved a revised building plan that November. Bids for the construction of the superstructure were opened on December 21, but an injunction against the awarding of the contract was placed less than an hour after the bidding process started, after a lawsuit was filed over the fireproofing material that
14720-508: Was intended as the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company's main subway terminal in Manhattan, but fell into disrepair after businesses moved uptown in the 1930s. When the Municipal Building was completed, there were also supposed to be new station buildings for the adjacent elevated IRT and BRT stations, designed in the same architectural style. The tracks from the Chambers Street station would have also connected directly to
14848-527: Was involved in efforts to convert two lanes of Park Row into a cycling and pedestrian greenway , which opened in June 2018. In the 2020s, the section of Park Row north of Chatham Square remained closed to most traffic, and residents of Chinatown were advocating for it to be reopened. Because of the security barriers, ambulances tended to avoid traveling along the Police Plaza section of Park Row. Park Row
14976-401: Was less elaborate than some of the other submissions. such as the runner-up proposal by Howells & Stokes , inspired by 90 West Street . McKim, Mead & White had entered the contest under the encouragement of mayor George B. McClellan Jr. The firm's senior partners had been noncommittal about participating in the competition, though they named junior partner William Mitchell Kendall as
15104-526: Was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. The section of Chambers Street under the building was closed to vehicular traffic around the same time, with the construction of One Police Plaza . In 1974, Wank Adams Slavin was hired to undertake a $ 24 million renovation of the building's interior. As part of the renovation, corridors were to be narrowed, and partitions between offices would be removed, to create more office space; vinyl floor tiles and recessed lighting were to be installed; and
15232-515: Was not repaid with interest until 1964; the interest was more than twice the original cost. The land alone had cost $ 6 million. Nevertheless, the structure was expected to save the city from paying $ 800,000 a year in rent. Upon opening, the Municipal Building housed 4,200 city employees. It was patrolled by a private police force, which monitored the building 24 hours a day, as well as a cleaning crew of 135 people. There were also telephone switchboards for inter-departmental communication, which at
15360-406: Was originally located at 113 Nassau Street in 1851. It moved to 138 Nassau Street in 1854, and in 1858 it moved a little more than one block away to 41 Park Row, possibly making it the first newspaper in New York City housed in a building built specifically for its use. The New York Times Building, which was designed by George B. Post , was designated a New York City landmark in 1999. The building
15488-530: Was originally occupied. By 1915, the building was fully occupied. The New York City Board of Estimate commenced an investigation into office vacancies at the Municipal Building in 1916 after the New York Public Service Commission leased floors in other buildings. The layouts of the interiors were also criticized, even though the city had selected the design specifically of its interior layout. A nonprofit organization established
15616-416: Was placed on the facade as a result. In 1988, workers surrounded the building with scaffolding in preparation for the first large-scale restoration of the facade, which was to begin the next year. The renovation was expected to cost $ 58 million and required 39 miles (63 km) of steel tubes to support the massive scaffolds. By then, the building housed 6,000 employees and contained 11 percent of all
15744-421: Was positioned so that the columns above did not interfere with the subway station. The Municipal Building's frame had 26,000 short tons (23,000 long tons; 24,000 t) of steel, which required 20 derricks to erect. The superstructure weighed a total of 180,000 short tons (160,000 long tons; 160,000 t). The above-ground walls, and half of the beams in the superstructure, were carried by steel-plate girders at
15872-485: Was removed for six months and re-gilded by New Jersey metalwork shop Les Metalliers Champenois. After the restoration was completed at a cost of $ 900,000, Civic Fame was reinstalled in October 1991. The building is divided vertically into 25 bays on its western elevation; 25 bays combined across the northeastern, southeastern, and eastern elevations; and three bays on its northern and southern elevations. Each bay contains either one or two windows on each story. The facade
16000-595: Was rerouted underneath the plaza and its intersection with New Chambers Street and Duane Street was eliminated. Today, a statue of Benjamin Franklin by Ernst Plassman stands in Printing House Square, in front of the One Pace Plaza and 41 Park Row buildings of Pace University , holding a copy of his Pennsylvania Gazette , a reminder of what Park Row once was. The New York Times
16128-516: Was reversed when the cornerstone was laid. The Pennsylvania Steel Company was contracted in early 1910 to manufacture 25,000 short tons (22,000 long tons; 23,000 t) of structural steel for the Municipal Building. Construction was interrupted by various incidents. Three workers were buried in June 1910 when temporary bracing in the foundation collapsed, though all survived; another cave-in occurred on Park Row in September 1910. A fire broke out on
16256-497: Was supposed to be used in the building. Furthermore, the presence of the sand supposedly posed issues for the superstructure, though McClellan said that he believed it was safe to build on sand. McClellan laid the building's 4-short-ton (3.6-long-ton; 3.6 t) cornerstone on December 28; unlike at other municipal projects, the ceremony was private, and the cornerstone only had the year "1907" inscribed in Roman numerals. The injunction
16384-490: Was the tallest building in the world from 1899 until 1908, when it was surpassed by the Singer Building . The Potter Building at 38 Park Row (145 Nassau Street) was built in 1882-86 and designated a New York City landmark in 1996. It was built after the owner's previous building on the site burned down. The Potter Building was converted into apartments between 1979 and 1981. The New York City Police Department
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