A Look at Brooklyn, then and now.

As befitting its status as one of the East Coast’s premiere cities, the independent city of Brooklyn had a first class civic center, in the latter half of the 19th century. Brooklyn City Hall stood on the north side of Joralemon Street, near Court Street, and across the street stood the Hall of Records, Brooklyn County Courthouse, and the Municipal Building. Like City Hall, the marble clad Courthouse was designed by architect Gamaliel King, and was built between 1861 and 1865. It was truly one of Brooklyn’s finest civic buildings. The Courthouse was flanked to the right by the Municipal Building, begun in 1876, and completed in 1878. It was a French Second Empire marble-clad behemoth designed by Ditmars and Mumford. One the left side of the Courthouse stood the Hall of Records, a large limestone Classical style building designed by William Mundell, architect of the Williamsburg and Park Slope Armories. It was built between 1885 and 1887.

These four buildings must have been quite an inspiring sight, all white gleaming marble or limestone, well ahead of the City Beautiful Movement. Unfortunately, they were also smack in the middle of Brooklyn’s commercial and transportation hub, and the inspiring views were marred by the elevated tracks of the El, which ran down Fulton Street, and curved up towards the Brooklyn Bridge, and a multitude of other buildings built up in the area, some really good, others not so much.

As the 20th century progressed, huge changes were in store. First of all, Brooklyn was no longer an independent city, it was now a borough, and the importance of a first class civic center had waned in the eyes of NYC’s planners. All of these buildings were still vitally important however. In 1927, a new and much larger Municipal Building replaced the Second Empire building. It was a Classical Structure designed by McKenzie, Voorhees and Gmelin.

In 1944, the El came down, which greatly increased the feeling of space and light in the entire area. Cadman Plaza soon followed, a massive project of urban renewal instituted by Robert Moses in 1955. The new Supreme Court Building was built in 1957, rendering the Courthouse building superfluous. The Courthouse and the Hall of Records were torn down, and in 1968, the first Brooklyn Law School Building was built on the corner of Boerum Place, followed in 1994 by the Robert Stern Law School building sandwiched between that building and the Municipal Building. GMAP

Photo: Google Maps

What's Your Take? Leave a Comment

  1. An artist should create a nice slipcover for the State Supreme Court building. The cover would feature the facade of a more admired building such as the Winter Palace or Houses of Parliament.

  2. An artist should create a nice slipcover for the State Supreme Court building. The cover would feature the facade of a more admired building such as the Winter Palace or Houses of Parliament.

  3. The State Supreme Court Building is a product of its time, 1957.
    Its architects were the notable firm of Shreve, Lamb and Harmon. They designed the Empire State Building among other things. The bas-reliefs at the entry are good examples of late moderne styling. The windows were originally golden bronze, it needs a cleaning and sprucing up.
    I am not optimistic about what a replacement might look like.

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