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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PR- 328-03
November 14, 2003

MAYOR MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG, CITY COUNCIL SPEAKER GIFFORD MILLER AND PUBLIC ADVOCATE BETSY GOTBAUM CELEBRATE 200TH ANNIVERSARY OF CITY HALL

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, City Council Speaker Gifford Miller and Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum today celebrated the 200th anniversary of the construction of City Hall, which took place from 1803 to 1812.  At the ceremony, a bluestone paver was unveiled on the southeast side of the plaza that was carved to commemorate the anniversary.  The carving in the paver corrects a historical inaccuracy on the foundation stone by crediting Joseph François Mangin along with John McComb, Jr. as the architects of City Hall.  The ceremony was scheduled for November 14th because according to the minutes of the Common Council (the forerunner of today’s City Council) this was the date they authorized the purchase of the marble selected for City Hall.  The Mayor also thanked the Landmarks Preservation and Art Commissions, the Departments of Park & Recreation and Citywide Administrative Services, and the City Hall custodial team for their enormous service to the people of New York City.

“Today we celebrate the beginnings of one of New York City’s most treasured landmark buildings: City Hall,” said Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. “We wanted to give credit where credit is due, and we thought the 200th anniversary of City Hall was the perfect occasion to set the record straight.  I want to commend our researchers led by the Landmarks Preservation and Art Commissions through whose meticulous work we are able to credit both Joseph François Mangin and John McComb, Jr. as the architects responsible for the design, and I want to thank and honor all the City workers who maintain and preserve City Hall and its surrounding grounds.”

“Over the past two hundred years, this building has beheld the unfolding of our City’s history,” said Speaker Miller. “It has witnessed fervent debate, trials of strife and moments of glory.  City Hall stands as a true testament to New York City’s remarkable past, it serves as a reminder of all that we work towards, and it remains an inspiration for the impressive future that is sure to come.”

“For 200 years, City Hall has stood as a symbol of the great municipality that is New York City,” said Public Advocate Gotbaum. “When Joseph François Mangin and John McComb Jr. designed our City Hall building in 1802, they envisioned nothing less than a world-class building to represent a world-class city and I am glad to have had the opportunity to work in this great building. This anniversary marks a historic day for the City of New York.”

“While many things have changed over the last two centuries, City Hall remains as one of the City’s most enduring treasures,” said Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. “As with the Statue of Justice atop its cupola, it symbolizes everything that New York City stands for: resiliency, opportunity, and optimism.”

Until earlier this year, it was not known where City Hall’s foundation stone was located or even if there still was one, as some speculated that there had been a corner stone that might have been removed.  The foundation stone is the first stone placed below ground level as part of the building’s foundation while a corner stone is the first stone placed above ground level.  Both commemorate the construction of a building and are usually inscribed.

Researchers led by the City’s Landmarks Preservation Commission and the Art Commission pored over period newspapers, like the Daily Advertiser, the Morning Chronicle and the New York Evening Post at the New York Public Library, the diary of John McComb, Jr., one of City Hall’s architects, at the New-York Historical Society, and the minutes of the Common Council.  Contemporary accounts revealed that a foundation stone had been laid at the southeast corner of the building during a ceremony on May 26, 1803.  Further examination of the publications indicated that John McComb, Jr. received sole credit as the architect of the building on the actual foundation stone itself as well as in most of the news coverage.

In order to correct this historical error, one of the bluestone pavers in City Hall Plaza was carved commemorate the anniversary.  It was inscribed with the following:

The first stone of this building
was laid on May 26, 1803
by Order of the Common Council.

John McComb, Jr., Architect
Joseph François Mangin, Architect

200th Anniversary
of the Construction of City Hall
November 14, 2003

Michael R. Bloomberg
Mayor

 Gifford Miller
City Council Speaker
 William C. Thompson, Jr.
Comptroller
 Betsy Gotbaum
Public Advocate

New York City’s current City Hall is its third City Hall and has been the seat of New York City government since 1812.  Located in City Hall Park, it is one of the City’s most treasured buildings, and is a designated landmark, and also listed on the New York State and National Registers of Historic Places.

The first City Hall in the 17th century, also known as the Dutch City Hall, was located in the old City Tavern on Pearl Street.  Then a new City Hall was built in 1700 at Wall and Nassau Streets.  It was renamed Federal Hall when New York became the first capital of the United States.  The Common Council talked about a new City Hall as early as 1776 but the Revolutionary War interrupted those plans.  Later a site was chosen at the old Common at the northern limits of the City, now City Hall Park.

In 1802, a competition was held for the new City Hall and twenty-six proposals were submitted.  The first prize of $350 was awarded to John McComb, Jr. and Joseph François Mangin.  John McComb, Jr. was a New Yorker while Joseph François Mangin was trained in his native France. City Hall is the only known project on which the two architects collaborated.

City Hall was dedicated in 1811 but did not open until 1812.  The architectural style of City Hall is a combination of two famous historical movements.  The exterior facade reflects that of the French Renaissance, and the interior that of the American-Georgian style.  The building consists of a central pavilion with two projecting wings. The design of City Hall influenced at least two later civic structures, the Tweed Courthouse and the Surrogate’s Courthouse.  The rotunda is a soaring space with a grand marble stairway rising up to the second floor, where ten fluted Corinthian columns support the coffered dome. The rotunda has been the site of municipal as well as national events. Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant were laid in state here, attracting enormous crowds to pay their respects.

City Hall, as well as Tweed Courthouse and Gracie Mansion, are open to the public year-round for tours by appointment by calling 311.  In addition, City Hall is one of the many featured landmarks in the Landmarks Commission’s Guide to New York City Landmarks (3rd Edition; John Wiley & Sons; October 2003; $24.95) now available at the CityStore in the Municipal Building, 1 Centre Street in Lower Manhattan, and at your local bookstore.

At the event, the Mayor expressed his gratitude to Elisa Strauss of Confetti Cakes for creating and donating the birthday cake, P.S. 234 Fifth Grade Chorus for singing “Happy Birthday” and A. Ottavino Corporation for carving the paver.







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