Archives of the Mayor's Press Office

Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani today announced that the recently restored Tweed Courthouse has been handed over from the City of New York to the Museum of the City of New York (MCNY). Once the Courthouse is fit for museum and exhibit use, the MCNY will move into the extensively renovated building located in the heart of the City's civic center, just north of City Hall.

Joining the Mayor for the announcement were Chairman of the MCNY Board of Trustees Newton P.S. Merrill; MCNY Director Robert R. Macdonald; Deputy Mayor for Planning, Education and Cultural Affairs Anthony P. Coles; Deputy Mayor for Economic Development and Finance Robert M. Harding; Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors John S. Dyson; and New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC) President Michael G. Carey.

"I am pleased to welcome the Museum of the City of New York to the historic Tweed Courthouse," Mayor Giuliani said. "Once a symbol of New York City's most infamous period in government - built by "Boss" Tweed during the Tammany era - this building will now be properly reclaimed by the public. Visitors to the Museum in its new location will be surrounded by the City's historic civic district, located behind City Hall and across from the Brooklyn Bridge. Because so much of our City's history has taken place in or near Lower Manhattan, it's the perfect place to learn about New York City's heritage."

"New York City deserves a world-class museum that narrates the almost 400 year journey of this remarkable community," MCNY Director Robert R. Macdonald said. "The tragedy of September 11th has made the creation of such a museum even more compelling. The new Museum of the City of New York at the Tweed will be a center of learning and a quality cultural attraction helping in the revitalization of lower Manhattan and the renewal of the City's spirit."

In December 2000, the Museum's Board of Directors voted in favor of moving to the Tweed Courthouse. The City and the MCNY have entered into an agreement for the MCNY to occupy the Tweed Courthouse for up to 50 years.

In 1999, Mayor Giuliani directed EDC to proceed with a comprehensive restoration of the 172,000 square foot building. The $85 million restoration was completed in December 2001 under the direction of EDC President Michael G. Carey, with the architectural firm of John G. Waites Associates and the construction management of Bovis Lend Lease LMB.

The comprehensive renovations to the Tweed Courthouse include extensive improvements to the exterior stone, the metal roofing, the reconstruction of the Chambers Street stairs, the central rotunda, and the former courtrooms. The entire exterior was cleaned in order to remove materials that had caused discoloration, returning the façade to its original gleaming white marble. New façade lighting will now dramatize the stone profiles of the building. Damaged stones were also replaced, while cornices and the Corinthian columns of the building were repaired and restored.

The renovations also included replacing the roof, the skylight above the rotunda, and the restoring the skylights over the stairways. The Chambers Street staircase was reconstructed to allow for a grand entrance to the building. The courtrooms in the building have been restored to their original configurations. Chandeliers and wall sconces were replicated from historic illustrations of the interior and from surviving fixtures found in the building.

The decorative plasters around the doorways, as well as the doors and the windows themselves were restored and finished. The floors and barrel-vaulted ceilings in some of the rooms had long been concealed by many layers of paint. The masonry was cleaned, bricks were replaced, and tiles in the floors were reset and replaced with fabricated ones to match those that were missing or damaged.

The Tweed Courthouse will nearly double the space now available at MCNY's current home, allowing for an expansion of exhibit space and public programs for adults and children. To complete the transformation of Tweed to the MCNY, Museum has engaged the architectural firm of Coopers, Robertson & Partners; the exhibition design firm, Ralph Appelbaum Associates, as well as Bovis Lend Lease and Zubatkin Associates.

Founded in 1923, the MCNY is the first museum in the United States dedicated to illustrating the history of a single city. The more than 1.5 million items create one of the greatest treasure troves of New York City's heritage. Through its programs and exhibits, the Museum seeks to help New Yorkers and visitors alike to find an understanding and appreciation of the City and its remarkable history spanning nearly 400 years.