Geography NYC
Professor: Jack Eichenbaum
Nicole Fuller
November 18,2000

The City of Brooklyn: A Focus on Downtown Brooklyn's Civic Center

Brooklyn, the most populous borough in New York City, occupying eighty-one square miles of land on the southwestern tip of Long Island was once its own municipality. Situated on the New York Harbor across the East River from Manhattan, Brooklyn was a one time the nations third largest city. Although it became a borough of New York City in 1898 it still retains the qualities of a large urban complex, with a strong, independent central business district and government center.

Fulton Street and vicinities, between Johnson, Court, Adams, Boruem Place, Joralemon Street and Cadman Plaza, make up the Borough Hall district. The triangular block formed by Fulton, Court and Joralemon Streets is sight of the Brooklyn Borough Hall building. Formerly the City Hall of Brooklyn, this four story marble building designed in post-colonial Greek Revival style, was constructed in 1836, but due to financial difficulties the structure was not completed until 1849. The building was remodeled in 1895 after a fire destroyed its cupola and parts of the interior. The building was restored in 1987-1989. The building houses the Borough Presidents office.

Across the street from Borough Hall on Joralemon street is the Brooklyn Municipal building. The fourteen-story building was built in 1926. Its entrance is adorned with stone colored Tuscan (Italian) columns. Most of the boroughs administrative offices are located in the Municipal building.

Next to the Brooklyn Municipal building facing the Fulton street shopping center is the Brooklyn Law School. William Richardson founded the private law school in 1901. In its early years the school occupied various locations in buildings through out Brooklyn Heights. The building located in the civic center was built in 1968. The ten-story building adjacent to law school is the Brooklyn Law School Annex built in 1968 as an addition to the existing campus.

The New York State Supreme Court Building located at 360 Adams Street is the lowest court where on can take legal action in the City. Designed in 1957, by Shereve, Lamb, and Harmon, who also designed the Empire State building, the court building is apart of the whole that makes up Borough Hall Park.

Across the street form the Supreme Court is a new and exciting addition to Brooklyn's Civic Center, the Marriott (Renaissance Plaza) Hotel. The Marriott who opened its doors early this year has 376 rooms and occupies 82,000 square ft. of space. This hotel is ideal for the business oriented civic center. It allows for extended government related business visits and tourism generated from neighboring Manhattan. The many offices of real estate, firms and brokers, banks, law and medical practices also help to sustain the hotel. The Marriott is the first of its kind to be built in the mini metropolis.

The Brooklyn Eagle Building, located on Johnson and Adams Street, houses the borough's major newspaper. The Brooklyn Eagle was founded in 1841 by a group of Democrats and was edited by Henry C. Murphy, former Mayor of Brooklyn. The old Brooklyn Eagle building located at Washington and Johnson Streets is now a landmark and is currently being used as an office building. About twelve different local Brooklyn publications are produced out of its current location.

Borough Hall Station sits in the center of the civic centers government buildings. Constructed in 1908, today the station stands in its original Mosaic architecture and functions as an elevator to the numbers 2,3,4,5 subway lines into Manhattan. This line was the former IRT Lexington Avenue connection to Manhattan.

Within visible distance from the heart of the Civic Center over looking downtown Brooklyn, one can clearly see the Brooklyn Bridge. The bridge opened in May 1883, providing the first roadway like between Brooklyn and Manhattan. At the time of its opening, it was the tallest modern structure in the world. Wooden elevated trains crossed the bridge until 1944, trolleys until 1954. The wooden walkway raised above the vehicle roadway is one of the most spectacular walks in the city. Cadmen Plaza built from 1950-1960 was the Cities way of creating a graceful setting for new Borough Hall. Its construction was made possible by the elimination of the elevated's that traveled across the Brooklyn Bridge through Fulton Street. The plaza, Park-like in its construction is used by passerby, students, and people who work in the area. It is home to several monuments and memorials.