Content area
Full Text
The renovation and restoration of New York's Tweed Courthouse was deemed a great success, as the project was honored with a Tucker Award from the Building Stone Institute upon its completion
The Old New York County Courthouse, better known as Tweed Courthouse, is one of New York City's greatest civic monuments. Located at 52 Chambers Street at the corner of Broadway, it is at the north end of City Hall Park, the only building other than City Hall in the park. Built over a 20-year span, between 1861 and 1881, it is the product of two of New York's most prominent nineteenth-century architects, John Kellum and Leopold Eidlitz, and is the legacy of Tammany Hall boss William M. Tweed. This legacy was reinforced with an extensive restoration effort that lasted more than a decade, an endeavor that was honored with a Tucker Award from the Building Stone Institute.
Grandly scaled and richly decorated, Tweed Courthouse is among the most architecturally significant public buildings constructed in the U.S. during the third-quarter of the 19th century. Its immense cast iron elements, both decorative and structural, are unparalleled in any American public building. The 177,500 square feet of interior space has retained its original spatial arrangement, encompassing 30 monumental courtrooms and a five-story central rotunda. Originally the New City Hall, the building has had many uses over the years, serving as a county courthouse, city courthouse and municipal office building.
Threatened with demolition as late as the 1970s, its significance was finally recognized by governmental agencies and private organizations. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1974 and, two years later, designated a National Historic Landmark, the highest level of recognition afforded a historic property in the U.S. In 1984, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission honored the building with interior and exterior designations.
Early preservation efforts: Cleaning the exterior and documenting problems
Tweed Courthouse was used for offices by various city agencies when, in 1989, John G. Waite Associates, Architects, PLLC, was engaged to prepare a feasibility study for the building's preservation and reuse. The preservation aspect required a detailed examination of the fabric of the building, the formulation of a comprehensive approach for its treatment, and recommendations...