Brooklyn Municipal Building

210 Joralemon Street | also 55 Court Street, 57 Court Street | Brooklyn Heights | built 1926

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Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.

  1. 1878

    An earlier Municipal Building from 1876-78 occupies part of the site

    The city's earlier Municipal Building, designed by Ditmars & Mumford and dating from 1876-78, occupied part of the lot where 210 Joralemon Street now stands. Plans for a replacement began as early as 1903. The new Municipal Building was not completed until 1926.

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  2. 1911

    The Art Commission rejects a domed design for a new Municipal Building

    The city had tried to replace its 1870s Municipal Building since 1903, when Washington Hull won a competition. McKim, Mead & White drew a scheme in 1905 and Lord & Hewlett one in 1906, each commissioned by a different borough president. In 1911 McKenzie, Voorhees & Gmelin filed designs, but the Art Commission rejected them because their dome might compete with Borough Hall's.

    “The firm filed its initial designs in 1911, but these were rejected by the city's Art Commission, which objected to the inclusion of a dome over the central tower.”

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  3. 1915

    The old Municipal Building is demolished and work on its replacement stops for nearly a decade

    Work on the new Municipal Building got as far as demolishing the old one in 1915, the 1876-78 building that had occupied part of this site. Work on its replacement was then suspended and did not resume for nearly ten years. The final design by McKenzie, Voorhees & Gmelin was H-shaped: two wings on either side of a central tower set back above a street-level arcade, with steep roofs and a tall cupola.

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  4. 1924

    The Art Commission scrutinizes the Municipal Building's entrance colonnade and the architects submit a plainer design

    When the city revived the project in 1923, it asked McKenzie, Voorhees & Gmelin to update their 1911-13 plans. The Art Commission looked hard at the entrance colonnade, which is perhaps the building's most distinctive feature. In 1924 the architects sent revised renderings and a scale model of the colonnade that did away with the central sculptural element in favor of a more austere design.

    “…the entrance colonnade, perhaps the most distinctive feature of the building, received particular scrutiny.”

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  5. 1926

    The Brooklyn Municipal Building opens and spurs a row of skyscrapers across Court Street

    Construction began in August 1924, the Art Commission approved the cupola in summer 1925, and the Municipal Building opened in 1926. Although it was not the borough's tallest, a 1926 New York Times article said private builders were quick to follow the city's lead. Within a couple of years, tall office buildings rose on the west side of Court Street facing it, earning the area the title of Brooklyn's skyscraper row.

    “…private enterprise has been quick to follow the example set by the city in erecting the new Brooklyn Municipal Building.”

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  6. 2021

    March 15

    The city renames the Municipal Building for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

    Borough President Eric Adams first asked Mayor Bill de Blasio in 2017 to rename 210 Joralemon Street for the Brooklyn-born Supreme Court justice, and he launched a petition in 2018 that gathered more than 100,000 signatures. After Ginsburg's death in September, the mayor agreed. The renaming ceremony took place on March 15, 2021, her birthday, when Adams also gave her the key to Brooklyn posthumously.

    Source: 6sqft

Further reading

Nearby

All 25 buildings with stories in Brooklyn Heights