On the 7th of April, 1863, the Legislature passed another act authorizing the Supervisors to raise a sum not exceeding $125,000, to be used in the erection and furnishing of the Court House building.
The ground on which the Court House stands is 140 feet on Fulton and Joralemon streets, by 351 feet deep. No better location could have been selected. The building was constructed under the direction of the Board of Supervisors, of which body the late General Crook was chairman. The building committee were Samuel Booth, Charles C. Talbot, William H. Hazzard, Charles A. Carnaville, Gilliam Schenck, and George G. Herman. The architects were Gamaliel King and Henry Teckritz.
The ground was broken October, 1861, and the corner-stone was laid May 20, 1862, by the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of New York, Daniel T. Walden of Brooklyn officiating as Grand Master. Addresses were made on the occasion by Mayor Kalbfleisch, representing the city; General Crook, president of the Board of Supervisors, representing the county; Judge John A. Lott, for the judiciary; and Dr. Storrs delivered an eloquent address.
Owing to the unsettled condition of the country, during the Rebellion, the work did not advance rapidly. The price of materials increased, and labor commanded war prices. Many of the contractors declined to proceed, and new and less advantageous contracts had to be made. The price of the carpenters' work alone was increased $5000, and the feverish state of the times added more than $100,000 to the expense. The total cost of the building, land, and furniture was $551,757.28.
The building is erected on the site of the old Military Garden. When the land was purchased and the building erected, there were some old buildings between it and Boerum Place. The Court House was placed on a line with the street, in order that it might not be hidden by the adjoining structures. It is a great pity that the Supervisors did not see that in the process of time the adjoining land would be owned by the county. Had they thought of this, they could have placed the edifice twenty feet further back from the street, and thereby greatly improved its appearance.
It is to be noted that the Court House was constructed within the sum appropriated. Its manner of construction is in striking contrast to the methods pursued in New York. It stands to-day a monument to the integrity and capacity of the Board of Supervisors, and all in any wise concerned in its construction.
The building was finished in February, 1865, and thrown open to public inspection on the evenings of February 28 and March 1, 1865.[34]