The
Park and the New York City Hall from Broadway. Engraving by Richardson-Cox N.Y.,
published by James Miller, in 1859, in the Miller's New York as it is;
or Stranger's Guide-Book to the Cities of New York, Brooklyn and Adjacent Places.
The City Hall is depicted before August 1858, when it was partially destroyed by fire. Its reconstruction did not occur before 1860.
Below, text about the City Hall Park published in the Miller's guide:
«Transferring our gaze to Broadway, ...we notice Barnum’s Museum on the east side of Broadway, and opposite to it St. Paul’s Church, then the Astor House, the Park, and the City Hall ; the brown-stone building on the east side being that of the Times Office. Beyond the City Hall inclosure is Stewart’s marble palace, then the City Hospital,...»
«The Park
Is a triangular inclosure of about 11 acres, containing the City Hall and other public buildings. At the southern part there is a beautiful fountain, inclosed in a basin 100 feet in diameter. The iron is in the shape of an Egyptian lily, around it are numerous perforations through which small jets of water are projected, which descending form a mist, while the main jet throws up a column of water to a great height, amidst the surrounding trees.»
«The City Hall
This is an imposing edifice, and, for the most part, built of marble. It was constructed between the years 1803-10. At the celebration of the Atlantic Telegraph [August 1858], the clock-tower and other upper portions of the building were destroyed by fire, but have since been rebuilt.
Previous to the completion of the new cupola, our City Fathers contracted with Messrs. Sperry & Co., the celebrated tower-clock makers of Broadway, to build a clock for it, at a cost not exceeding $4,000, that our citizens might place the utmost reliance upon, as a timekeeper of unvarying correctness. During the month of April the clock was completed, and the busy thousands who were daily wont to look up to the silent monitor, above which the figure of justice was enthroned, hailed its appearance with the utmost satisfaction. It is undoubtedly the finest specimen of a tower clock on this side of the Atlantic, and as an accurate time-keeper competent judges pronounce it to be unsurpassed in the world. The main wheels are thirty inches in diameter, the escapement is jeweled, and the pendulum, which is in itself a curiosity, is over fourteen feet in length. It is a curious fact that the pendulum bob weighs over 300 pounds; but so finely finished is every wheel, pinion and pivot in the clock, and so little power is required to drive them, that a weight of only 100 pounds is all that is necessary to keep this ponderous mass of metal vibrating, and turn four pairs of hands on the dials of the cupola! The clock does not stand, as many suppose, directly behind the dials, but in the story below, and a perpendicular iron rod twenty-five feet in length connects it with the dial- works above.
In the building are the several offices of the Mayor, Common Council and Aldermen, the Governor’s room, City Library, and other business offices.
The United States District Court is located in Chambers street, at the rear of the City Hall. The several other Courts are held in the brown stone building, situated at the northeast angle of the City Hall.»
