New York City, New York

The consolidation of the five boroughs into Greater New York in 1898 created the need for an impressive and suitably-sized headquarters for the city government. Between 1907 and 1908 the city sponsored an architectural competition for a large office building to consolidate various agencies. Urged by Mayor McClelland to enter, the fabled firm of McKim, Mead & White won with a proposal for a classically detailed skyscraper. The Municipal Building was the firm’s first skyscraper. The building design used the Roman, Italian Renaissance and Classical styles.

Designed by a partner William Mitchell Kendall, the U-shaped structure was adroitly placed on an irregular site adjacent to the ramps of the Brooklyn Bridge and criss-crossed underground by transit connections. Completed in 1913, the 25-story block is surmounted by a central “wedding-cake” tower of spires, colonnades, and obelisks. The central tower is surmounted by the heroic figure of Adolph Weinman’s “Civic Fame” in copper, 20 feet high, poised on a large copper ball.

Various types of sculpture and relief cover portions of the Municipal Building. The central arch is decorated with sculpture in the Roman manner as was used in the Arch of Constantine. Over the side arches are rectangular allegorical panels. At the left (north), Civic Duty is represented by a woman personifying the City, accompanied by a child holding the seal of the city. On the right of the arch (south), Civic Pride shows the female personification of the city receiving tribute from her citizens.

The Municipal Building underwent a complete restoration of its exterior masonry in 1999, which entailed a the replacement of the badly corroded metal pins which hold the granite cladding in place.