Architecture 101: Sunset Park Courthouse

The former Sunset Park Court House is a Classical Revival style building located at 4201 Fourth Avenue between 42nd and 43rd streets in the southwestern section of Brooklyn. It is one of only two courthouse buildings known to have been designed by Mortimer D. Metcalfe, a New York architect who also worked on the design of Grand Central Terminal, served as NY State Deputy Architect under State Architect Franklin Ware, and independently designed several landmark buildings in Palm Beach. The Sunset Park Court House was built in 1931 to house the magistrates’ and municipal courts and today is one of the neighborhood’s few remaining civic buildings. It’s largely intact on the exterior and has had only a few minor alterations. Of particular note are its imposing Ionic-columned porticos on the 42nd and 43rd street facades and its grand quoins culminating in American eagle capitals, moldings, meticulously-articulated limestone details, and window treatment. The building is currently used as the Community Board 7 headquarters and also to house the NYPD’s main applicant processing division.
Sunset Park Courthouse [Landmarks Preservation] GMAP