Jefferson Market Library (Third Judicial District Courthouse) | |
 At sunset in 2024 | |
 | |
| Location | 425Avenue of the Americas Manhattan,New York City |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 40°44′5″N73°59′57″W / 40.73472°N 73.99917°W /40.73472; -73.99917 |
| Built | 1874–1877 |
| Architect | Frederick Clarke Withers |
| Architectural style | High Victorian Gothic[1] |
| NRHP reference No. | 72000875 |
| NYSRHP No. | 06101.000423 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | November 9, 1972[3] |
| Designated NHL | December 22, 1977[4] |
| Designated NYSRHP | June 23, 1980[2] |
TheJefferson Market Branch of theNew York Public Library, once known as theJefferson Market Courthouse, is aNational Historic Landmark located at 425Avenue of the Americas (Sixth Avenue), on the southwest corner ofWest 10th Street, inGreenwich Village,Manhattan,New York City, on a triangular plot formed byGreenwich Avenue and West 10th Street. It was originally built as theThird Judicial District Courthouse from 1874 to 1877, and was designed by architectFrederick Clarke Withers of the firm of Vaux and Withers.
Though faced with demolition in 1958, public outcry led to its reuse as a branch of the New York Public Library. The building is now part of theNew York City Landmark Preservation Commission'sGreenwich Village Historic District, created in 1969.[1] In addition, the building was placed on theNational Register of Historic Places in 1972[3] and made a National Historic Landmark in 1977.[4] TheAIA Guide to New York City calls the building "A mockNeuschwansteinian assemblage ... of leaded glass, steeply sloping roofs,gables,pinnacles, Venetian Gothic embellishments, and an intricate tower and clock; one of the City's most remarkable buildings."[5]
A tall octagonal woodenfire lookout tower was the first building on the site, built circa 1833, located in the center of the merchants' sheds at the Jefferson Market that had been established at this site in 1832 and named for thelate President. Court sessions were held in the Jefferson Assembly Rooms that rose above the market sheds. The wood tower and the market structures were torn down by the city to build a new courthouse, the adjacentJefferson Market Prison building that stood on the corner of West 10th Street and Greenwich Avenue and new coordinated market housing (built in 1883). Of the carefully massed eclectic and picturesque group, only the former Courthouse now remains.
The commission for the new courthouse went to the firm of Vaux and Withers, but asCalvert Vaux was busy with theAmerican Museum of Natural History and theMetropolitan Museum of Art, the design fell to his partner, the English-bornFrederick Clarke Withers.[6] Withers came from the same background as Vaux,[6] so it is not unusual that hisHigh Victorian Gothic design was similar in some respects to the "Ruskinian Gothic" aesthetic of Vaux's early buildings, such as in its polychrome materials – red brick, black stone, white granite, yellowsandstone trim and variegated roof slates. Reasoning that a building with a clock tower was going to look like a church no matter what he did, Withers decided to add church-like touches with non-religious content, such as thetympanum which shows a scene fromThe Merchant of Venice instead of the usual scene of Christ sitting in judgment or other ecclesiastical subject matter.[6] The building also features stained glass windows and a fountain decorated with birds and animals.[1]
The courthouse was completed in 1877, and in 1885 a panel of American architects sponsored byAmerican Architect and Building News voted it the fifth most beautiful building in America.[1]
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The building got substantial use as a courthouse, as the Third Judicial District covered theMadison Square area, where the city's entertainment district –The Tenderloin – was located. So heavy was the traffic, that the country's first nightcourt began there.[6] Among the more noted people arraigned in the courthouse wasHarry K. Thaw, the murderer of celebrity architectStanford White.[6]
The building ceased to be used as a courthouse in 1945;[7] its future was uncertain, and it was in danger of being torn down. A group of community preservationists led byMargot Gayle andRuth Wittenberg formed the Committee of Neighbors to Get the Clock on Jefferson Market Courthouse Started and campaigned to have the building converted into a library.[5] In 1961, theNew York Public Library agreed to the plan and architectGiorgio Cavaglieri was brought in to restore the exterior[5] and redesign the building's interior for its new use – one of the firstadaptive reuse projects in the United States, and a signal event in thehistoric preservation movement.[1] The restoration is estimated to have cost $1.4 million.[8] The library opened in 1967,[1] with the police court becoming the Children's Reading Room, the Civil Court the Adult Reading Room.[9] Budget cutbacks in 1974 caused the Board of Trustees of the New York Public Library to vote to close the branch, as well as two others.[8] After an outcry from residents, the decision was rescinded one month later.[10]
The building was listed on theNational Register of Historic Places in 1972 and was declared aNational Historic Landmark in 1977, both under the name "Third Judicial District Courthouse".[4][11][12]
The building received further restoration in 1994 by preservationist architectJoseph Pell Lombardi.[5]
In 1996 "Ol' Jeff", the fire bell, silent in the Tower for 135 years, regained its voice with Margot Gayle's help, thanks to Cynthia Crane and Marilyn Dorato. It strikes the hours from 9am to 10pm. On April 13, 1997,The New York Times wrote: "The bell has newly and unexpectedly connected the community surrounding the building on Avenue of the Americas at 10th Street, helping to put the concept of village back in Greenwich Village; it serves as a powerful, an hourly, reminder of the values ofarchitectural preservation."[13]
There are annual tours of the tower, typically duringOpen House New York weekend in October.[citation needed]
By 2012 the building's exterior was once again in need of restoration, deteriorated ornaments were re-sculpted from the original Ohio sandstone. The tower's railings and finial were repaired and resecured. Missing and broken slates were replaced on the slate roof and a new copper drainage system installed. Brick and stone were re-pointed and cleaned. SUPERSTRUCTURES Engineers + Architects led the restoration. The owners and project team were honored by theNew York Landmarks Conservancy with its Lucy G. Moses Preservation Award in 2014.[citation needed]
The building had further improvements in 2019 to bring it in compliance with theAmericans with Disabilities Act of 1990.[14] It reopened in July 2022.[15][16]
The library manager is Frank Collerius who also presents the New York Public Library's podcastThe Librarian Is In.[17]
Notes
