Borough Hall, New York City, Guida per visitatori e cosa fare nei dintorni

Brooklyn Borough Hall is a Greek Revival civic building on Court Street in downtown Brooklyn, New York City. It was built in the 1840s as the city hall of the then independent City of Brooklyn and still serves as a government building today. It is a good starting point for exploring Brooklyn Heights and the streets around it.

The story behind it

Brooklyn was its own city until 1898, when it joined New York City, and Borough Hall is a reminder of that independence. The building was designed by Gamaliel King and finished in the late 1840s, and it served as Brooklyn's City Hall until the merger, after which it took its present name.

The ground around it also carries older memories. On August 27, 1776, weeks after the Declaration of Independence, British forces defeated George Washington's Continental Army in the Battle of Brooklyn, also called the Battle of Long Island. It was one of the largest battles of the Revolution. Washington then pulled his army across the East River in a night evacuation in late August, under cover of darkness and fog, which kept the Revolution alive. Many of the Americans captured in the campaign were held on British prison ships off the Brooklyn shore, and thousands of prisoners died aboard them during the war.

What to look for

• The columned portico and pale stone front show the Greek Revival style, which was chosen to give a young city the look of a classical civic temple.
• The cupola on top of the building is crowned with a statue of Justice that you can spot from the street and from the plaza in front.
• The wide steps and the plaza on the Court Street side show how the building was meant to face the public as a place of civic life.
• Look at how the older stone building sits among the taller courthouses and office towers around it, a visible layer of Brooklyn's history.

Tips for your visit

• Allow 15 to 20 minutes for the building and plaza, or longer if you combine it with a walk through Brooklyn Heights.
• It is a working government building, so check current opening hours and visitor access before planning to go inside.
• The Borough Hall subway station is right beside it, and the Brooklyn Heights Promenade and the Brooklyn Bridge area are within walking distance.
• Morning or late afternoon gives softer light on the facade, and a greenmarket is held nearby on some days, so check the current schedule.

See it on a quest

Murder Mystery: Death in the Shadows in Brooklyn Heights, New York City is a good way to see Borough Hall as one stop on a longer walk through the neighborhood. You reach each place on foot, the app tells you about it as you arrive, and you solve a puzzle based on what is in front of you. One ticket covers the whole group.

Brooklyn, New York City Detective Mystery: Infiltrate a Secret Society. is another self-guided route through Brooklyn that passes this landmark. You can start whenever you like, with no guide and no group to join, and you learn about the places as you go and solve puzzles on the spot. One ticket covers the whole group.