The civil, political, professional and ecclesiastical history, and commercial and industrial record of the county of Kings and the city of Brooklyn, N. Y., from 1683 to 1884 Volume I, Part 134

Author: Stiles, Henry Reed, 1832-1909, ed. cn; Brockett, L. P. (Linus Pierpont), 1820-1893; Proctor, L. B. (Lucien Brock), 1830-1900. 1n
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: New York : W. W. Munsell & Co.
Number of Pages: 1114

USA > New York > Kings County > Brooklyn > The civil, political, professional and ecclesiastical history, and commercial and industrial record of the county of Kings and the city of Brooklyn, N. Y., from 1683 to 1884 Volume I > Part 134

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On July 18, 1853, an act to incorporate Lefferts' Park Association passed the legislature of the state. Its corporators were Nathaniel P. Hossack, John C. Riker, Roswell Graves, Samuel D. Willmot, and E. J. Danforth. The said park was bounded by Tompkins avenue on the west, Throop avenue on the east, Gates on the south, and Quincy street on the north. The incorporators of the Montague Park, to which we have already referred, were J. H. Prentice, E. J. Bar- low, S. B. Chittenden and James Humphry. This park includes all that tract of land of Brooklyn, “ be- ginning at a point where the westerly line of Columbia street, if continued, would strike the northerly line of Remsen street; running thence easterly on the north- erly line of Remsen street continued, to the easterly line of Furman street; thence northerly, along the easterly line of Furman street, to a point distant 160 feet north of the northerly line of Pierrepont street, contin- ued to Furman street; thence easterly at right angles to Furman street to the westerly line of Columbia street, and on a continuation of said line, to the place of beginning. Capital stock, $125,000, with privilege to increase the same to a sum not exceeding $200,000."*

We have now briefly traced the growth of the city of Brooklyn from a village, to the proportions of a rapidly inereasing city, from its first charter through all the various acts and their amendments, down to June 28, 1873, when its charter was amended so as to form, with the exception of a few amendments, the present municipality of the City of Brooklyn; which is divided into twenty five wards, the present bounds of which will be found delineated on the map of the city, which accompanies this volume.

Having given the municipal history of Brooklyn down to the period of its consolidation with Williams- burg and Bushwick, we propose to give some attention to the early municipal buildings of the village and city, with their history to the present time; and a brief description of the present municipal government of the city, its various departments, its legislative, minis- terial, and judicial organization.

Early Municipal Buildings .- In the year 1878, a committee, consisting of five aldermen, viz .: John French, chairman; F. B. Fisher, Geo. W. Williams, John Dreyer, and Daniel O'Reilly, were appointed to take charge of the construction of municipal depart- ment buildings. In June, 1878, this committee sub-

* This was one of the abortive attempts to secure a portion of the Heights for public use and recreation -See chapter on Parks, page 596 .- EDITOR.

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HISTORY OF KINGS COUNTY.

mitted a very able, useful and interesting report upon the earlier and late public buildings of the city of Brooklyn, from which we shall make some extracts.

Touching the public buildings erected in former years in Brooklyn, "it was found," said the report, " that the official records contain but little information concerning the construction of the City Hall and other public structures; and many of the proceedings of the Common Council, at the period when the city hall was crected, were never recorded. The press, in those days, in marked contrast to the present, scarcely men- tioned the fact of the erection of the building, or chronicled the incidents connected therewith, though they were of a stirring and exciting character. It was, therefore, deemed advisable to rescue from obliv- ion, while some of the participants were yet living, as many facts concerning the city hall as were to be secured at so remote a period from its construction. The valuable information we have obtained has only been accumulated after much research among musty books and documents, and many interviews with some of the men who were actively connected with public affairs fifty or more years ago. Among these may be mentioned Hon. Henry C. Murphy ; Hon. Samuel S. Powell; Hon. Stephen Haynes; Alden J. Spooner, Esq .; D. Lawrence, Esq .; Hon. Francis B. Stryker, and Silas Ludlam, Esq.

"Much credit is due John Yates, Esq., for valuable aid in compiling and arranging facts and figures; and, also, to J. M. Masterton, Esq., of Mount Vernon, N. Y., a son of one of the contractors for the marble work of the City Hall, and himself the contractor for the marble work for the Municipal Building."

Until its incorporation as a city, the municipal gov- ernment of Brooklyn consisted of a president and a board of five trustces. At first, and for several years, its capitol building was a general retail store of not very large dimensions, owned by Mr. Evert Barkaloo, not far from the present ferry house, opposite the Brooklyn Eagle building. In 1825-6, the Apprentices' Library building was erected, in which the meetings of the board of trustees were held, and where all business per- taining to the affairs of the village was transacted.

After the incorporation of the city, the Common Coun- cil held its sessions there until the completion of the City Hall; but the Mayor, Clerk of the Common Council and Street Commissioner, had their offices in what was known as Hall's Exchange Buildings, a brick building, three stories high, on the south-west corner of Cran- berry and Fulton streets. In the great fire of 1848 it was destroyed. In these buildings the city government offices were held until 1836, when the city had increased to such proportions that these buildings were totally insufficient. During that year the city corporation pur- chased the Apprentices' Library Building, paying there- for the sum of $11,000. It was an attractive brick structure, of two stories and a basement, on the south-

west corner of Henry and Cranberry streets. Its cor- ner-stone was laid on July 4, 1825, by the illustrious Lafayette, then the nation's guest. The imposing cer- emonics which attended the placing this corner-stone in its appropriate place, with the other proceedings of that day, formed an historic epoch in the annals of Brooklyn.

The city having thus become the owner of the Ap- prentices' Library building (that organization having been merged in the Brooklyn Institute, on Washing- ton street), erected an additional building in the rear of the library, and gave the whole the name of the City Buildings, to which the offices of the Mayor, Clerk of the Common Council and Street Commissioner were re- moved in 1836-37.

Besides the sessions of the village trustees, those of the Circuit Court, Court of Common Pleas and the Muni- cipal Court of Brooklyn were held in the Apprentices' Library. In the basement, at the same time, were the offices of the County Clerk and the Brooklyn Savings Bank.

It was in one of the rooms in this building that HON. HENRY C. MURPHY, in the year 1834, began the prac- tice of his profession.

Between the years 1835-6, the population of Brook- lyn had increased from 8,800 to 25,000.

The removal into the city buildings was only tem- porary. Two years previous-in July, 1834-a meet- ing of the citizens, at which Mayor Hall presided, took place, at which a resolution was adopted to purchase the triangular piece of land on which the City Hall now stands. It contained one and one-half acres, and cost the city $52,909 .*

The City Hall .- The land having thus been sc- cured, the corner-stone of a City Hall was laid, with ap. propriate ceremonies, April 28, 1836, by the Mayor, JONATHAN TROTTER. Constructed of marble, and planned on a magnificent scale, from the designs of Calvin Pollard, of the city of New York, it was in- tended to cover nearly the whole of the land of which the city had become the purchaser.

Its dimensions were 269 feet on Fulton street, 250 feet on Court street, and 222 feet on Joralemon street; of a triangular form, it was to have had porticos on the three fronts, with columns each 36 feet, 6 inches high,

*As an important item in the municipal history of the city, we give transcripts of the deeds and releases of dower, by which the city be- came the lawful grantees of the said piece of land.

Edward Remsen and wife to the mayor, etc., of the city of Brooklyn. Deed dated May 1st, 1835; recorded in liber 49, page 490, May 16, 1835 ; acknowledged May 16, 1835; consideration, $20,955.

Sarah Remsen, guardian of Matilda F. Remsen, to the mayor, etc., of the city of Brooklyn. Deed dated May 1, 1835; recorded in liber 49, page 496; acknowledged May 16, 1835; consideration, $20,362.80. Hezekiah B. Pierrepont and wife to the mayor, etc., of the city of Brooklyn. Deed dated May 19, 1835; recorded liber 50, page 23, May 20, 1835; acknowledged May 19, 1835 ; consideration, $11,590.20.

Sarah Reisen to the mayor, etc., of the city of Brooklyn. Release of dower dated May 1, 1835 ; recorded liber 49, page 495, May 16, 1835 acknowledged May 9, 1835 ; consideration, $1.

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MUNICIPAL HISTORY OF BROOKLYN.

ornamented with a capital of the Grecian order, and resting on a pedestal base 17 feet in height. Sur- mounting the angles, it was designed to have domes, and rising from the center of the building a tower 120 feet high. In its spacious rooms all of the public offices and courts would have been accommodated. Its cost was estimated at from $750,000 to $1,000,000.

The corner-stone was laid, as we have seen, April 28, 1836, and the walls to the first story were erected; but, in 1837, the memorable panic occurred, and caused the work to be suspended. and the walls were covered.

The total expenses down to that time, including cost of site, was $184,494. Before another attempt to con- tinue the work was made, a meeting of the Common Council took place in April, 1838, at which Alder- man Thorn introduced a resolution to the effect that, " as upwards of $150,000 had already been spent on the building scarcely raised above the ground, it was there- fore inexpedient to build a City Hall upon such an ex- pensive plan; and, that all further work on said build- ing be discontinued; and, that it be referred to the committee on public lands and buildings to ascertain what price could be obtained for the materials on the ground, and upon what terms the contracts for the then present city hall could be annulled." This resolution was laid on the table; but there is no record showing the subsequent action of the board in regard to it.

In the meantime, the population of the city continued to increase to a most surprising degree; so that in 1840 it was 36,233, and in 1845 it was 59,573, and the muni- cipal offices were still in the city buildings. In 1844, the Common Council, incited by the insecurity of the city buildings, directed the committee on lands and buildings to procure suitable plans and estimates for the erection of a City Hall, to be located on the public property at the intersection of Court and Fulton streets, at a cost not exceeding $75,000. The committee pro- cured these plans, but at a subsequent meeting this resolution was rescinded. The matter of the erection of a City Hall continued to engross the atttention of the common council and the public mind. Litigations fol- lowed for breach of contract etc., etc.

On the 24th of November, 1845, however, the Com- mon Council resolved to apply to the legislature for au- thority to raise $100,000 to meet the payments on ac- count of contracts for the new building; and at a meet- ing held on October 2, 1848, the board made a similar application for authority to raise $50,000 additional; botlı of these, we believe, were successful. In 1845, the walls of the building which we described were de- molished, and the erection of the present City Hall was begun. It is a three-story and basement building, 175 feet long, the rear running parallel with Joralemon street, and the sides on Fulton and Court streets hav- ing a width of 100 feet. At the close of 1848, the building was so far completed that the municipal of- fices began to be transferred to it. At that time, the

population of the city had increased to upwards of 90,000, and the business of the city government depart- ments was very largely augmented. The City Hall was finally finished in the autumn of 1849, during the ad- ministration of Mayor FRANCIS B. STRYKER. At that time, the population of the city was 100,000, divided into nine wards, comprising the whole of what is now known as the western district. The total expense of the edifice was $715,000. (A view of the City Hall will be found on the illustrated title-page of this history.)

The Court-House .- We have seen in another part of this work the history of the various court-houses in the county of Kings, from the first court-house at Gravesend to those erected at Flatbush; and have de- scribed the various places in which the supreme and county courts were held after the removal of the county seat to Brooklyn.

Upon the completion of the City Hall in 1849, rooms for holding the various courts of record in the county were prepared in the City Hall, to which they had been removed from the Apprentices' Library building early in the autumn of that year, and where they were held until 1865.

In 1855, when the cities of Brooklyn and Williams- burg and the town of Bushwick were united under one municipal government, the population of the city, thus enlarged, exceeded 200,000. With this large and in- creasing population there was a heavy increase of legal business, which seemed to enlarge beyond the rapid increase of population, so that the court-rooms in the City Hall were quite inadequate; and, for several years, it was apparent that the erection of a court-house with sufficient dimensions for the public business was abso- lutely demanded. Accordingly, as far back as June 1853, an act was passed by the legislature giving au- thority to borrow $100,000 for the erection of a court- house. But the usual delays, embarrassments and con- tentions incident to the erection of a great public building prevented its erection, and it was not till May 20, 1862, that its corner-stone was laid. Three years elapsed after this before the edifice was completed; and in March, 1865, the Supreme Court, the County Court, City Court, Court of Sessions, the Supervisors and other county officers were located therein. The cost of the site and the building was $549,636.43.

Although nearly twenty years have elapsed since the Court-house building was thus occupied, and the popu- lation of the city has grown to over 600,000, with a proportionate increase in the other towns in the county it is still the seat of justice for this great population and the county of Kings, with ample room and ac- commodations. Here the general term of the Supreme Court, the Circuit Court, the Court of Oyer and Terminer, the Surrogate's Court, the general and trial terms of the City Court, the County Court and the Court of Sessions have ample and convenient rooms. Here too are the Register's office, the County Clerk's office, the Super-

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HISTORY OF KINGS COUNTY.

visor's room, the Grand Jury room, Petit Juror's room, the Law Library, District Attorney's office, the Sheriff's offiee, office of the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors, the office of the Commissioners of Jurors, the office of the County Auditor, County Treasurer's office, and other rooms for the aeeommodation of the publie.

Although the Court-house may not impress one with any grandness of its architecture, it has an imposing appearanee. Solidity and durability are marked features in its construction; it seems to have taken possession of the ground on which it stands for many generations to eome. Passing through its high-arehed, solid stone halls, or entering its spacious, well-lighted, well-ventilated rooms, one feels that the mutations of time will fail to dislodge justiee and her adjunets from possession of this building, which is indeed a eredit to the eity of Brooklyn and the eounty of Kings. (A view of the County Court-house will be found on the illus- trated title-page of this history.)

The Municipal Departments .- "For a long time previous to the year 1875," says the report to which we have alluded, "the several imieipal departments were flitting from place to place in search of more room in which to transact their part of the publie business. Prior to 1866 the headquarters of the Police Depart- ment were confined to rooms afterwards occupied by the first distriet eourt, at the south-west corner of the city hall basement. In 1866, they were removed to the building at the north-west corner of Washington and Johnson streets, where they remained till 1871, when they were removed to a larger building at the south- west eorner of Court and Livingston streets, where they remained till 1878, when the eentral offiee of the depart- ment was located in the Municipal Building.

The Bureau of Excise .- This was an independ- ent department in 1872-3, with offiees on the south corner of Myrtle avenue and Fulton street. By the amended eharter of 1873, the department was made a bureau, subordinate to the Police Commissioners. The burean removed with them from the corner of Livings- ton and Court streets to the municipal buildings.

The Health Offices of the city. These, soon after the ereetion of the Court-house, occupied, for a brief period, the first floor, east side of the Court-house build- ing. They were removed to a large frame house on Washington street, just north of the old poliee head- quarters. Subsequently, in May, 1873, when the Health Department was organized, it was removed to more suitable premises at the north-west eorner of Court and Livingston streets, where it remained till about the first of Mareh, 1878, when it was removed to the Municipal Building.

The City Treasury .- Until 1873, the eity had no aeeommodation for its Treasurer. In that year, on the re-organization of the Brooklyn Trust Company, rooms were provided for the City Treasurer on the north-west corner of Court and Joralemon streets, In 1878, rooms

were prepared for the City Treasurer in the City Hall, to which he removed that year.

Department of Audit .-- The Auditor's office was removed in 1874, from the City Hall to a room adjoining the City Treasury Department on Court street, but it was again located in the City Hall.

Department of Parks .- The Park Commission as at present constituted, or nearly so, was appointed in 1860. Its first offiees were in the Court-house; they were removed to the old police head-quarters, the building on the corner of Court and Livingston streets. In 1871, the eommission removed to the 3-story brick building on the south-west corner of Schermerhorn and Court streets, where it remained till June, 1878, when it was removed to the City Hall.

Department of Arrears .- The amended charter of 1873 ereated a Department of Arrears from a bureau of the Department of Colleetions. From 1873 to 1878, the department oceupied offices on Court street, adjoin- ing the Treasurer's and Auditor's department. In 1878 it was removed to the Municipal Building.

Board of Elections .- By a special act of the legislature passed in April, 1873, the appointment of a Board of Elections for the eity was directed to be made. The offices of the board sinee that year were in Montague street, between Court and Clinton. About June 1, 1878, they were removed to the City Hall.

From the foregoing description of the plaees as- signed for the various offiees of the municipal govern- ment, it will be seen that the whole of this department must have been greatly embarrassed by the system of oceupying separate buildings for the transaction of the publie business of the city. Even before 1875 the eity paid annually $17,600 rentals for the municipal department. So greatly did this embarrassment in- erease that some remedy beeame imperative. Early in 1873, a plan was prepared, under the direction of the Board of City Works, for the enlargement of the City Hall, for the convenience of the municipal department. This plan provided for the adding of wings on each of the east and west faees, to the depth of the building, covering the space from street to street, giving a front of 232 feet, with pavilions over each wing front and rear, and a mansard roof over the entire building, in- cluding the wings - making the building four stories in height, arranged to utilize the roof story. The plans, prepared by J. W. Adams, as chief engineer, although admirable, in all their detail, were considered to involve too much expense to be feasible for the present time. It is not improbable, however, that the great growth of the eity, will, in time, eause this plan to be in some sense adopted.

The Municipal Building .- During the year 1876, preliminary steps were taken by the Common Couneil for the ereetion of a separate Municipal Build- ing. The loeation of such a building became a ques- tion of paramount importance, leading to mueh public

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MUNICIPAL HISTORY OF BROOKLYN.

discussion in the city papers, and by the city generally. The location first suggested was on Adams street, between Myrtle avenue and Johnson street. The pro- ject was officially acted upon in the Common Council, on the 28th of February, 1876, when Alderman Francis B. Fisher introduced a resolution, for the ap- pointment of a special committee of three, to nego- tiate with the Supervisors (the County having an inter- est in the title of the said plot), for the purchase of the same.

This committec, after a conference with a committee of the Supervisors, made a report adverse to the plot of land we have described. But the public mind had decided upon the erection of a municipal building, and prompt measures were adopted to subserve that purpose. The city charter did not provide any means for such an expenditure, except by placing the amount necessary in the tax-levy, which was restricted to annual amounts inadequate for the yearly outlay of the building. Re- course was therefore had to legislative enactment to the city to raise the necessary funds. The location selected was that pieceof land belonging to the County of Kings, bounded on the east by the court-house and the brick wall fencing in the grounds where the Court- house now stands; on the south by Livingston street and the Polytechnic Institute; on the west by the lands of the Polytechnic Institute and the Dutch Reformed church, and on the north by Joralemon street.

The deeds, by which the Supervisors transferred the interest of the county of Kings, were filed in the Regis- ter's office on the 31st of May, 1876. This transfer was not effected without considerable difficulty, which rendered special acts of the legislature necessary; es- pecially as there were some members of the Board of Supervisors who were reluctant to advise the county to part with so valuable a piece of property.

The city properly expressed its obligation to the committee of the Board of Supervisors and the then Supervisor-at-Large, James Howell, and other gentle- men of the board, for their zealous efforts in behalf of securing these lands. This location being in closc proximity to the City Hall, and easy of access, was peculiarly eligible. The next step was to procure proper legislative cnactment, authorizing the city of Brooklyn to erect a public building to be used for municipal purposes, and to acquire land therefor for the uses of the city. At that time William C. DeWitt was Corporation Counsel; to him fell the duty of draft- ing an act, which would empower the city to crect such building and to acquire and hold such lands, "in such manner and under such supervision as the Common Council may determine, at an expense not exceeding $200,000, exclusive of the cost of said land; and for such purposes the financial officers of said city were authorized to pay out of any monies in the city trcas- ury the cost and expenses of said building and of the said land, for the purpose of reimbursing the treasury

of the city;" the proper authorities were directed to insert said amount in the tax levy to be laid on the property in the said city during the years 1876, 1877 and 1878, in three equal annual installments. The said bill was admirably drawn, meeting the approba- tion of the citizens of Brooklyn. The committee hav- ing the matter in charge acted with much discretion and ability. Immediately after the passage of the act, three architects of the city, of high standing, Messrs. John Mumford, W. B. Ditmars, and Arthur Crooks, were consulted, and, upon their report and advice, the special committee, under the power vested in them, invited six architects to compete with plans for the buildings. These were Messrs. Mundell, Crooks, Ditmars, Morse, Mumford, and Morrel, residents of Brooklyn. Subsequently the committee invited Messrs. Eisenach, Cornwall, and Schultz & Steinmetz, also Brooklyn architects, to become competitors.

On the 12th of June, 1876, the committee made a full report of their proceedings, with recommendations con- cerning the proportions of the building, the material, the interior arrangement, and the disposition of the de- partments. They recommended that the new building be 100 feet front; 150 feet in depth; of three stories and mansard roof; of brick, with marble or iron front; nearly fire-proof, with fire-proof vaults for the keeping of records, maps and other valuable property of the city. There were other recommendations as to the manner of occupying the different floors.

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The civil, political, professional and ecclesiastical history, and commercial and industrial record of the county of Kings and the city of Brooklyn, N. Y., from 1683 to 1884 Volume I, Part 134

Author: Stiles, Henry Reed, 1832-1909, ed. cn; Brockett, L. P. (Linus Pierpont), 1820-1893; Proctor, L. B. (Lucien Brock), 1830-1900. 1n Publication date: 1884 Publisher: New York : W. W. Munsell & Co. Number of Pages: 1114

Author: Stiles, Henry Reed, 1832-1909, ed. cn; Brockett, L. P. (Linus Pierpont), 1820-1893; Proctor, L. B. (Lucien Brock), 1830-1900. 1n
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: New York : W. W. Munsell & Co.
Number of Pages: 1114