When City Hall opened in 1812, some New Yorkers feared it was too far north; after all, the city at the time was centered at the southern tip of Manhattan.
But the city quickly marched northward and this French-inspired Federal structure (the two designers who built it won $350 for their efforts) has been in use continually for more than 200 years.
Surrounded by stately city buildings and offices and often the site of riots and demonstrations, it maintains a simple elegance.
Tags: City Hall building, City Hall New York City, City Hall Park, New York City Hall, New York in 1812, Vintage postcards New York City
Ephemeral New York 
January 27, 2014 at 2:57 pm |
The fact that it is still used for the original purpose after 200 plus years is wonderful!
February 5, 2014 at 10:23 am |
And blanketed in snow (or really, anytime), beautiful City Hall Park is one of the wonders of New York.
April 24, 2014 at 5:51 am |
[…] another spring or summer day in a park featured in many vintage postcards? Without a caption, we’ll never […]
May 4, 2014 at 12:40 pm |
My favorite story about the building of City Hall is that the north side of the building was originally finished with plain stone, because the planners were certain it would be decades before people lived on that side of City Hall. They couldn’t have been more wrong, of course.
March 27, 2017 at 6:50 am |
[…] Hall, which had been home to New York’s officials and agencies since 1812, was bursting at the seams by the middle of the Gilded […]
August 7, 2017 at 6:31 am |
[…] out of view on the left. But centered on the northern end are government buildings, courts, and City Hall, which employ politicians and big staffs that serve […]
December 17, 2018 at 4:57 am |
[…] moving to Broadway and Great Jones Street, he lived in a townhouse on Broadway opposite City Hall next to the American Hotel (below). He worshipped at Trinity […]