Bronx Borough Courthouse
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Bronx Borough Courthouse
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Old Bronx Borough Courthouse, December 2008
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| Location | East 161st Street, Third and Brook Avenues, Morrisania, Bronx, New York |
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| Coordinates | 40°49′22″N 73°54′36″W / 40.82278°N 73.91000°WCoordinates: 40°49′22″N 73°54′36″W / 40.82278°N 73.91000°W |
| Area | 1 acre (0.40 ha) |
| Built | 1905-1914 |
| Architect | attributed to both Michael John Garvin and Oscar Florianus Bluemner; sculpture by Jules Edouard Roiné |
| Architectural style | Beaux-Arts |
| NRHP Reference # | 82003344 |
| Added to NRHP | February 25, 1982 |
The Bronx Borough Courthouse, commonly referred to as the Old Bronx Borough Courthouse, is a U.S. National Historic Place, New York City Landmark, and icon of the borough of the Bronx. The courthouse was built between 1905 and 1914 in Melrose near Boston Road, Third Avenue, St. Anns Avenue, and 161st Street. The 161st Street station of the IRT Third Avenue Elevated train was in front of the courthouse. For two decades it housed the Supreme, Surrogate's, and County Courts of the borough until the larger Bronx County Courthouse was built in 1934. The Bronx Branch of the New York City Criminal Court remained here until 1977 when the city formally sealed the doors.
Built in Beaux-Arts style, the four story architecture facing south towards Manhattan, was erected with stone granite and adorned internally with lavish stairways, chandeliers, ornaments, and stained glass windows. Its exterior commands two pillars above the entranceway surrounding the throne of Lady Justice (the Greek goddess Themis or Dike) who honors and protects the gates of the law and encompassing city with unwavering and fair judgment. Created by Jules Edouard Roiné, the sculpture is a transcending symbol of the borough's history. Meanwhile, the design for the entire building has been attributed to two architects, Michael John Garvin and Oscar Florianus Bluemner.
For several years, since the annexation of the West Bronx in 1874, several Bronx advocates including Louis F. Haffen, and The Association of the Bar, in the Borough of the Bronx, in the City of New York, had consistently been striving for the placement of a proper court house in the borough. By the turn of the century, their endeavors were awarded as the city allocated funding for a new building that would represent the area and growing population that had increased from 40,000 in 1874 to more than 200,000 by 1900.
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