The Municipal Building is located at the intersection of Chambers and Centre streets in downtown Manhattan. Home to DCAS, the Municipal Building also houses the Department of Finance, Civil Service Commission, Manhattan Borough President, Public Advocate, Comptroller, County Clerk, Landmarks Preservation Commission, Office of Payroll Administration, Tax Commission, and field offices for the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications, Department of Buildings, Inspector General, Department of Environmental Protection, and the Mayor's Office. But did you know that the Municipal Building is one of the largest government buildings in the world? Or that more than 28,000 New Yorkers are married here each year?

This beautiful building has a rich history. By 1884, the City of New York had surpassed the limited physical space in City Hall and additional space was required for all of the many functions and services needed for a city which then numbered over a million. Many of the growing government agencies that were necessary for such an expanding city were located in rented offices in privately owned buildings north of Wall Street to what we now call midtown.

In his second annual report to the Board of Alderman in 1884, Mayor Franklin Edson stated that City Hall was becoming too crowded and that its "style of architecture was such that without marring its present symmetry, it couldn't be enlarged to the required extent."

Continuing lack of space and a general desire to decrease rents paid by the city to landlords led to the appointment of a commission in 1888 by Mayor Abraham Hewitt to select a site and advertise for plans. Four architectural competitions were commissioned between 1888 and 1907. The fourth, and final, competition for a design for the Municipal Building was commissioned by the Commissioner of Bridges, whose agency had acquired part of the designated land for a new terminal for trolleys that ran across the Brooklyn Bridge. Twelve architectural firms submitted plans for a new building in the final competition and the winning submission was designed by a young partner in the firm of McKim, Mead and White. By the time the award-winning design was selected in 1908, New York City included five boroughs and over 4.5 million people. By 1909, the foundation work began on what was soon to be one of the largest government office buildings in the world.

The firm of McKim, Mead and White was internationally renowned and was then the largest architectural firm in the world with a staff of more than 100. Their work was well respected by the profession and well known for their quality of construction and the contractors used. Other examples of this firm's work include the Rhode Island State Capitol building, the Morgan Library and the American Academy in Rome.

The Municipal Building was the firm's first skyscraper. The building design used the Roman, Italian Renaissance and Classical styles. The central tower is surmounted by the heroic figure of Adolph Weinman's "Civic Fame" in copper, 20 feet high, poised on a large copper ball.

Various types of sculpture and relief cover portions of the Municipal Building. The central arch is decorated with sculpture in the Roman manner as was used in the Arch of Constantine. Over the side arches are rectangular allegorical panels. At the left (north), Civic Duty is represented by a woman personifying the City, accompanied by a child holding the seal of the city. On the right of the arch (south), Civic Pride shows the female personification of the city receiving tribute from her citizens. Adolph Weinman, the sculptor of Civic Fame, also designed the shields that were used in the elevators, on the molding above the colonnade and again on the false colonnade above the 22nd floor. They represent New Amsterdam, the Province of New York (under English rule), the City of New York, the County of New York and the State of New York.

The Municipal Building was completed in 1915, but the first offices were occupied January 1913 and by 1916, the majority of the offices were full and open to the public. The building was designated a landmark in 1966 by the City's Landmarks Preservation Commission and has seen two major renovations, the last completed in 1993.

Today, the "Muni" Building is home to over 3,000 employees in nearly one million square feet of floor space. The main building is comprised of 25 floors and 33 elevators, with another 15 stories in the tower. Some 2,000 people use the various services and agencies located in the building every day, including over 80 couples who visit the City Clerk for four-minute weddings.

The Manhattan Municipal building is one of 52 Public Buildings managed by DCAS' Division of Facilities Management and Construction.