City Hall

Formerly the Federal Building and Post Office (1910-12)

View from Central Park	This building was designed by U.S. Treasury Department architectural staff working under the supervision of James Knox Taylor. As Federal Building, this was designed to be a symbol of government power and authority in the community. It would be built in an appropriate style and of the finest materials. Construction of this building on the east side of Central Park took two years. This historic photograph shows a crane is hauling material up to the workmen on the second floor. Notice the horse-drawn wagon in front of the building. View pictures taken during the construction of the Federal Building.
Third Street facade	This three story limestone building is a good example of Renaissance Revival design. Buildings in this style are meant to resemble palaces built in Italy during the Renaissance period. Each floor is given a different decorative treatment. In addition, there are three "fronts" or facades on this building. The primary (main) facade faces Third Street. Here the building is higher than the sidewalk and is separated from it by a concrete wall and small green space.
Fourth Street facade	The Fourth Street facade appears to be two stories with basement, and is reached by sidewalks through a formal garden area leading to a broad limestone staircase with a curving balustrade.
Central Park facade	The Central Park facade is at ground level with the park and is a full three stories high. While each of these elevations is treated in a different manner, note that each features a symmetrical, or balanced, facade. The entrance is in the center with an equal number of windows on each side. Symmetry is a very important element of Renaissance Revival design.
Third Street Entrance	This was designed as the main entrance to the Post Office portion of this building (the first floor). Note the large round arched opening, the metal pilasters on each side of the door, and the ornate iron grillwork in the lunette (arch above the door). The aluminum door is obviously a replacement, with wooden in-fill around it. This entrance is highlighted by three decorative elements.
Cartouche with shield	Above it is a limestone cartouche (ornamental panel in the form of a scroll with curving edges) holding a shield with thirteen stars. This shield represents the original thirteen states of the United States.
Stone rosette with light	On each side of the entrance is found a round stone panel with a flower design. In the center of each flower is an iron lantern to light the exterior.
Panel with horse and rider	In addition to each of these details, there are two more decorative stone panels on the Third Street facade, and repeated on the Central Park facade. These represent an early form of mail delivery . . . the Pony Express. The Pony Express rider has been given a classical treatment by the rendering of a nude figure with voluminous cloak. Note the saddlebag or pouch across the rider's chest. The horse is shown in a full gallop. Just as the open book on the front of the library indicated the use of that building, this Pony Express rider indicates the use of this one.
Corner of three stories	As noted earlier, the Renaissance Revival style treats each story in a different manner. This view of the Third Street facade illustrates this treatment. The first floor features tooled limestone blocks (the edges have geen gently rounded) and the doors and windows are all surrounded by large stone arches. A beltcourse separates the first and second floors. Above the first floor the corner features large stone blocks that form a pilaster (a flat attached column-like element) complete with a base and a capital. These pilasters are continued between each of the windows. The belt-course between the second and third floors is treated as a denticulated cornice. The third (or attic) story is much shorter than those below and is treated in a very simple manner with small square windows with a rectangular panel on each side, and a pilaster between each window unit. A full classical entablature caps the building. Originally the building had a green tile roof.
Second floor window detail	The second floor windows are rectangular in shape with a full triangular pediment above, and decorative stone sill below. The entire window is framed in a round arched panel which echoes the roung arched openings on the first floor. Note the beltcourse below the window.
Beltcourse between first and second floors	This beltcourse features a design of oval links alternating with square panels containing flower and leaf designs. It runs around all three main elevations of the building.
Corner pilaster and dentils	This shows the stone pilaster treatment at the corner of the second floor, with simple capital, and stone dentils forming the cornice. These dentils are similar to those found on the library.
Stone entablature	This is the horizontal detail located immediately below the roof. It is a combination of stone dentils, and an elaborate egg and dart motif. The egg and dart pattern is found on many classical buildings, both Greek and Roman.
Stone stairway on Fourth Street facade	The stone staircase to the Fourth Street entry has a slight curve at the bottom, providing a softening effect to the building. This type of staircase is commonly found in residential designs of the Renaissance period. Behind the stairs you can see the continued design of the first floor with large round arches, the link patterned beltcourse, and the pedimented second floor windows.
Stone entablature	The Fourth Street entrance features a rectangular doorway below a large round arch. The door is flanked by pilasters with decorative capitals, a full entablature with dentils, egg and dart motif, and a flat cornice. The arch is defined by two classical patterns, the egg and dart, and a bead and reel. Inset in the arch is an eagle in a round panel. This eagle represents the Federal government, showing that this is the entrance to the Federal court part of the building.
Decorative capital on pilaster	This decorative capital features a pattern of acanthus leaves with a sprinkling of small flowers. Note the bead and reel design on the left side.
Pilaster with decorative capital	This is the design used at the top of the pilasters separating the second floor windows on all three elevations of the building.
Vestibule for revolving door	The same attention to classical design is found throughout the interior of the building. Just as the entrances on each facade are highlighted by architectural details, on the interior each of the three entrances feature a circular vestibule for a revolving door. The revolving doors were removed when the building was converted into City Hall in 1964. Note the classical treatment of this vestibule, with narrow pilasters between each of the windows.
Top of vestibule	This shows the simple capitals topping each pilaster, plus the denticulated cornice. The circular vestibule for the revolving doors juts into the lobby area. Notice the vaulted ceiling. This was accomplished through the use of steel arched forms which were then covered with ornamental plaster. The walls of the lobby were lined with metal post office boxes. and the area above the boxes was filled with small panes of glass to provide natural light in the work areas. A green marble wainscoting (dado) filled the area below the post office boxes to the floor. Flooring in the public area was of terrazzo with white marble borders.
Marble staircase	Just inside the Third Street entrance a white marble circular staircase with brass railing leads up to the second and third floors. The space in the center of the circular stairs is filled by a small passenger elevator.
Top of vestibule	This hallway extends all the way through the building from Third to Fourth Street. The double doors at the far (Fourth Street) end were placed in the revolving door opening temporarily. Notice the pilasters extending out from the walls between the window and door openings, the dentils along the cornice, and the recessed panels in the ceiling. The large window at the far end looks out over Third Street. Note the decorative plasterwork on the walls and ceiling. Rich oak woodwork surrounds the windows and doors. The hanging light fixtures with round globes are original to the building. Even the floor features a decorative pattern.
Doorway and dado	Office doors opening off the main hallway feature transoms, with classical cornice above. The oak woodwork is continued as a dado along each side, with a green marble baseboard.
Hallway with entrance to court room	The most important room on this floor is the Federal Court Room. As appropriate, the doors to this room are larger and more elaborate than the others along the hall. One of the courtroom doors is seen in the center of this photo. Note that it is wider and has double doors. Also notice the plasterwork along the top of the wall. This is another classical detail.
Detail of cornice	A row of dentils is found across the top. Below is a pattern of three bars, a plain square inset panel, three bars, etc. This is a classical Greek motif called trigylphs and metopes. The three bars are the triglyphs, and the panels are the metopes. This pattern is found on the Parthenon in Athens, and was very popular through the centuries.
Detail of Court Room door	This court room entry features oak woodwork around the doorway, a rectangular panel bearing the incription "U.S. COURT ROOM," and a classical cornice which includes a row of egg and dart motif. Notice the triglyph and metope pattern above the doorway. The double doors opening into the court room are leather-covered with brass nails.
Interior court room door	This is the same entrance, but from the court room side. Notice that on this side there is a triangular wooden pediment above the door. The doorway is set in an arched area and flanked by fluted plasters complete with base and capital. These pilasters carry a simple classical entablature around the court room. An oak dado also surrounds the room. The two globe light fixtures are part of the original decor of this room.
Judge's bench	This is a full view of the formal judicial end of the room. Symmetry continues to play an important role in the design. The judge's bench is raised on a dais and is centered in front of a door leading to the judge's chambers. Note that the door is pedimented and is set in an arched area, just as the entrance doors are. This door is flanked by free-standing fluted columns which support the entablature which circles the room. The judge's bench is of oak matching the woodwork. Originally the bench was only wide enough to extend from flag to flag. When this building became City Hall, this court room became the City Council Chambers. At that time two new sections were built, matching the original center portion. These two new sections allow the Mayor, Council, City Administrator, City Attorney, and City Clerk to all be seated behind the bench. Note the medallions on the wall behind the bench. These each contain an eagle, the symbol of the Federal Government. There is a large open area in front of the judge's bench that is now filled with tables for city staff participating in council meetings.
Behind Judge's Bench	This photo shows the round arches above window and door openings. At the bottom of the picture is the entablature that circles the room above the pilasters. Simple panels are located between the arches, with a cornice separating the wall from the coffered ceiling. A coffered ceiling has a series of inset panels and beams.
Detail of eagle and cornice	This is a close-up of the eagle to the left of the judge's bench. Although it is a realistic representation of this American symbol, it has always been painted in a single color (ivory), not in natural colors. This photo shows the acanthus leaves that are part of the entablature above the columns/pilasters, the decorative plaster panels on each side of the eagle, and the decorative cornice above with acanthus leaves, dentils, and egg and dart. Note that these are highlighted by using different shades of off-white. This is a simple, but effective technique to highlight classical design elements.
Opposite end of court room	This is the wall opposite the judge's bench. Note the symmetry with the large arch springing from the free-standing fluted columns. All decorative features, except the eagles, are repeated at this end of the room. The hanging light fixture is original to the courtroom. An oak railing (or balustrade) separates the spectators from the judicial process. Behind this railing are four rows of oak benches.
Columns and pilasters	This is another detail showing the richness of the plaster decoration in this court room. As a space representing the Federal Government and Court, no effort was spared to make this a grand space. Classical design elements are everywhere.
Photos of hallway floor (above) and court room carpet (below)	Just as the walls and ceiling were treated in a grand manner, so was the floor. In the hallway the floors are of terrazzo with white marble borders. In the court room the floor was carpeted with a colorful representation of the foliated rinceau pattern. When the court room was faithfully restored to its original design and colors in the 1990's, the original carpet was replicated.

As as symbol of the power of the Federal government, nothing but the best in terms of design and materials was used for this building. Although the first floor has been altered, the second and third floors, and the limestone exterior retain their original grandeur.

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