Tweed Courthouse
Encyclopedia
The building is composed of a central section with two projecting wings, with an addition in the center on the south facade. The entry portico
on the main Chambers Street facade (illustration) rises three and a half stories from a low granite curb, supported by four Corinthian
columns. Panels of granite and Tuckahoe and Sheffield marbles are anchored to the outside of the brick structure, with rusticated
stone at the basement level. This main wing was designed by Kellum in the style of the Renaissance
palazzo
, described as the "Anglo-Italianate" style
to reveal the influence of British Victorian architecture that was the foundation of the popular American Victorian style.
The southern wing of the courthouse was constructed in the Romanesque style by the German-born architect and theoretician Leopold Eidlitz, who added the wide rotunda
enclosing the central courtyard, which Kellum had intended to be capped with a dome, which was never built. On the east and west sides of the rotunda are sets of cast iron stairs that run from the first to the third floors. The pillars on the interior were faux painted to resemble marble pillars, and the cast-iron handrails at the staircase were painted with a wood-grained finish.
. Tweed became one of the wealthiest New Yorkers of the day by using the construction of the building as a pretext to embezzle millions of dollars from the city government and the public. A series of disruptions culminated in the trial of "Boss" Tweed in an unfinished courtroom of this building in 1873. In 1876, Eidlitz was commissioned to complete an expanded design, redesigning the neoclassical
interiors of Kellum with rich polychrome effects in Romanesque Revival style. The Tweed courthouse was finally finished in 1881, more than 20 years after work began. The total cost of construction was estimated in 1914 at $11 million to $12 million, but the amount of money pocketed by the Tammany Hall group is unknown. The expanded design provided thirty monumental courtrooms ranged round the central three-storey octagonal rotunda.
John Kellum began his career as a house carpenter, later forming the firm King & Kellum in 1846 as the junior partner of Gamaliel King
, architect of Brooklyn Borough Hall
, the project for which he required an on-site partner. The firm designed commercial buildings, including the landmarked Cary Building
at 105-107 Chambers Street, one of the earliest cast-iron facades in New York City. Kellum started his own practice in 1860, and designed several buildings for Alexander T. Stewart, including his department store at Broadway and 10th Street, which burned down in 1956, and the master plan for Garden City, Long Island
. Thomas Little, a political appointee of the New York City Board of Supervisors, was given ex officio credit along with Kellum.
Leopold Eidlitz is best known for his work on the New York State Capitol
. He was hired in 1876 to finish the courthouse after the original architect died before completion, adding the building's south wing and domed rotunda. The Romanesque style and his extensive use of brick and stone transformed the appearance of the courthouse, in contrast to Kellum's intricate cast-iron design.
In 1927, the County Court moved from the Tweed Courthouse to the new New York County Courthouse
a few blocks north on Centre Street
.
) systems to maintain the appearance of the interior spaces. In addition, the front steps, which had been removed to accommodate a widening of Chambers Street, were restored.
The Guide to New York City Landmarks characterizes the building as containing "some of the finest mid-19th century interiors in New York."
The painstaking restoration of the building to its original form and decoration was intended to prepare it for its new role as a museum. However, the Bloomberg administration
chose to house the New York City Department of Education
with offices and classrooms also occupied by Innovate Manhattan Charter School.
Portico
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls...
on the main Chambers Street facade (illustration) rises three and a half stories from a low granite curb, supported by four Corinthian
Corinthian order
The Corinthian order is one of the three principal classical orders of ancient Greek and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric and Ionic. When classical architecture was revived during the Renaissance, two more orders were added to the canon, the Tuscan order and the Composite order...
columns. Panels of granite and Tuckahoe and Sheffield marbles are anchored to the outside of the brick structure, with rusticated
Rustication (architecture)
thumb|upright|Two different styles of rustication in the [[Palazzo Medici-Riccardi]] in [[Florence]].In classical architecture rustication is an architectural feature that contrasts in texture with the smoothly finished, squared block masonry surfaces called ashlar...
stone at the basement level. This main wing was designed by Kellum in the style of the Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
palazzo
Palazzo
Palazzo, an Italian word meaning a large building , may refer to:-Buildings:*Palazzo, an Italian type of building**Palazzo style architecture, imitative of Italian palazzi...
, described as the "Anglo-Italianate" style
Italianate architecture
The Italianate style of architecture was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. In the Italianate style, the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian Renaissance architecture, which had served as inspiration for both Palladianism and...
to reveal the influence of British Victorian architecture that was the foundation of the popular American Victorian style.
The southern wing of the courthouse was constructed in the Romanesque style by the German-born architect and theoretician Leopold Eidlitz, who added the wide rotunda
Rotunda (architecture)
A rotunda is any building with a circular ground plan, sometimes covered by a dome. It can also refer to a round room within a building . The Pantheon in Rome is a famous rotunda. A Band Rotunda is a circular bandstand, usually with a dome...
enclosing the central courtyard, which Kellum had intended to be capped with a dome, which was never built. On the east and west sides of the rotunda are sets of cast iron stairs that run from the first to the third floors. The pillars on the interior were faux painted to resemble marble pillars, and the cast-iron handrails at the staircase were painted with a wood-grained finish.
History
The location had previously been occupied by the public commons and a poorhousePoorhouse
A poorhouse or workhouse was a government-run facility in the past for the support and housing of dependent or needy persons, typically run by a local government entity such as a county or municipality....
. Tweed became one of the wealthiest New Yorkers of the day by using the construction of the building as a pretext to embezzle millions of dollars from the city government and the public. A series of disruptions culminated in the trial of "Boss" Tweed in an unfinished courtroom of this building in 1873. In 1876, Eidlitz was commissioned to complete an expanded design, redesigning the neoclassical
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
interiors of Kellum with rich polychrome effects in Romanesque Revival style. The Tweed courthouse was finally finished in 1881, more than 20 years after work began. The total cost of construction was estimated in 1914 at $11 million to $12 million, but the amount of money pocketed by the Tammany Hall group is unknown. The expanded design provided thirty monumental courtrooms ranged round the central three-storey octagonal rotunda.
John Kellum began his career as a house carpenter, later forming the firm King & Kellum in 1846 as the junior partner of Gamaliel King
Gamaliel King
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.His practice began as a "builder" in Brooklyn in the 1820s: in 1823 he and Joseph Moser were...
, architect of Brooklyn Borough Hall
Brooklyn Borough Hall
Brooklyn Borough Hall was designed in 1835 by architect Gamaliel King, and constructed under the supervision of superintendent Stephen Haynes. It was completed in 1849 to be used as the City Hall of the City of Brooklyn...
, the project for which he required an on-site partner. The firm designed commercial buildings, including the landmarked Cary Building
Cary Building (New York City)
The five-storey Cary Building is a cast-iron fronted building with twin facades on Chambers Street and Reade Street in New York City. The partnership of Gamaliel King and John Kellum was apparently responsible for its design, which was cast in Daniel D. Badger's Architectural Iron Works in...
at 105-107 Chambers Street, one of the earliest cast-iron facades in New York City. Kellum started his own practice in 1860, and designed several buildings for Alexander T. Stewart, including his department store at Broadway and 10th Street, which burned down in 1956, and the master plan for Garden City, Long Island
Garden City, New York
Garden City is a village in the town of Hempstead in central Nassau County, New York, in the United States. It was founded by multi-millionaire Alexander Turney Stewart in 1869, and is located on Long Island, to the east of New York City, from mid-town Manhattan, and just south of the town of...
. Thomas Little, a political appointee of the New York City Board of Supervisors, was given ex officio credit along with Kellum.
Leopold Eidlitz is best known for his work on the New York State Capitol
New York State Capitol
The New York State Capitol is the capitol building of the U.S. state of New York. Housing the New York State Legislature, it is located in the state capital city Albany, on State Street in Capitol Park. The building, completed in 1899 at a cost of $25 million , was the most expensive government...
. He was hired in 1876 to finish the courthouse after the original architect died before completion, adding the building's south wing and domed rotunda. The Romanesque style and his extensive use of brick and stone transformed the appearance of the courthouse, in contrast to Kellum's intricate cast-iron design.
In 1927, the County Court moved from the Tweed Courthouse to the new New York County Courthouse
New York County Courthouse
The New York County Courthouse facing Foley Square in lower Manhattan in New York City houses the Civil Term and the Appellate Term of New York State Supreme Court for the state's First Judicial District, which is coextensive with Manhattan, as well as offices of the County Clerk.-Architecture:The...
a few blocks north on Centre Street
Centre Street (Manhattan)
Centre Street runs north-south in the New York City borough of Manhattan. Centre Street runs from Park Row and continues north to Delancey Street where it merges with Lafayette Street....
.
Preservation
In the spring of 1999, John G. Waite Associates began the $85 million complete restoration of the building. The firm carefully removed as much as 18 layers of paint to reveal the original brick walls and cast iron in order to recreate the original paint colors. The skylights and structure of the roof over the rotunda were replaced, marble and glass tiled floors were restored and additional detail was carved into the capitals of the exterior columns at the portico, where the sheared-away entrance steps were replaced. The original ventilation shafts in the building's walls were used for modern heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVACHVAC
HVAC refers to technology of indoor or automotive environmental comfort. HVAC system design is a major subdiscipline of mechanical engineering, based on the principles of thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer...
) systems to maintain the appearance of the interior spaces. In addition, the front steps, which had been removed to accommodate a widening of Chambers Street, were restored.
The Guide to New York City Landmarks characterizes the building as containing "some of the finest mid-19th century interiors in New York."
The painstaking restoration of the building to its original form and decoration was intended to prepare it for its new role as a museum. However, the Bloomberg administration
Mayoralty of Michael Bloomberg
Michael Bloomberg has served as the current and 108th Mayor of New York City since January 1, 2002. He won reelection in 2005 and 2009.-Governing style and legacy:...
chose to house the New York City Department of Education
New York City Department of Education
The New York City Department of Education is the branch of municipal government in New York City that manages the city's public school system. It is the largest school system in the United States, with over 1.1 million students taught in more than 1,700 separate schools...
with offices and classrooms also occupied by Innovate Manhattan Charter School.
External links
- Official Page
- Landmark Tweed Courthouse Has a Checkered History Lower Manhattan info website
- A Brief History of the Tweed Courthouse NYC.gov
- The House that Tweed Built Archaeology magazine
- Landmarks Preservation Commission, The Tweed Courthouse Historic Structure Report, 1980