Richard M. Hunt, its architect, was born in Brattleboro, Vt., in 1827. He graduated from the Boston High School in 1843, and in the same year, having already chosen his profession, he went to Europe. In 1845 he entered the atelier of Hector Lefuel in Paris, and for nine years pursued his studies at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. In 1854 his patron having been put in charge of the new work on the Louvre, Hunt was appointed inspector, and under Lefuel designed the Pavillion de la Bibliothèque. In 1855 he returned to New York, and began his American career, toward 1870 taking up the class of work by which he is best known. He died at Newport in 1895.
| CITY HALL | NEW YORK CITY |
The third and present City Hall of New York City was projected in 1802, when a premium was publicly offered for the best design. The award was given to Messrs. Mangin (a Frenchman) and Macomb,—architects concerning whom very little authentic information is obtainable. It was finished in 1812. The corner-stone of the building was laid by Mayor Edward Livingstone.
The building consists of a central structure of two stories and an attic, surmounted by a cupola, and two wings of two stories each. The architects' original design provided a pediment for the base of the cupola, showing the city arms and bas-reliefs. The City Hall, when cross-sectioned, north and south, resembles the Register office in Edinburgh, designed by the Brothers Adam. The front and sides are of white marble, with brown freestone basement. Freestone was used for the rear because the building then stood so far out of town that it was thought not worth while to build it of marble. A broad flight of steps leads from the south to an Ionic colonnade. The cupola is surmounted by a statue of Justice.
| PLATE X | CITY HALL, NEW YORK CITY |