Clinton Hall, Nassau and Beekman Streets - 19th Century
The old Clinton Hall, on Beekman Street, corner of Nassau Street, facing the old Brick Church, to the right, out of the illustration. The City Hall Park is depicted in the distance. Engraving published by the Society of Iconophiles, 1906. Drawn by Alexander Jackson Davis (1803-1892) . Engraved by Francis Scott King (1850-1913). Source: New York Public Library. Continue below...
The four-story Clinton Hall was completed in 1830, intended to be appropriated to the use of scientific, literary, and commercial institutions. Its main frontage was on Beekman Street, between Nassau Street and the Theatre Ally.
The site was formerly occupied by a temporary theater built by David Douglass (1720-1786), in 1761, where Hamlet was presented for the first time in the United States. Today, the site is occupied by the Temple Court Building (now The Beekman Hotel), erected between 1881 and 1883.
The Clinton Hall building was home to the National Academy of Design, the Clinton Hotel and the Mercantile Library Association.
In 1853, the Clinton Hall Association was need more space for the library and moved to Astor Place and Fourth Avenue, in 1854 which housed the Astor Place Opera House. By 1870, the Mercantile Library was considered to be the largest circulating library in the United States, with 114,000 volumes. Books were delivered at member's residences.
Clinton Hall on the right, in the year it was completed.
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Copyright © Geographic Guide - 19th Century NYC. Historic Buildings. |
Fragment of a map by William Perris, 1852 (with additional text), showing location of the old Brick Church, the first headquarters of Daily Times at 113 Nassau St., the second headquarters at 138 Nassau St. and other buildings. The Lovejoy's Hotel was replaced by the Evening Mail in 1870 (original source: NYPL).
Clinton Hall, Nassau and Beekman Streets - 19th Century
