NYCHS Virtual Tour of Harlem Prison at Harlem Court:House

The plaque inside reads:

A - 1892 - D

Harlem - Court - House
erected
under the supervision
of
Thos - F - Gilroy
Comm. of Public Works

Hugh - J - Grant
Mayor

Theo - W. - Myers
Comptroller
___________
Thom - A - Wilson
Architect

Symth & Robinson
Builders
________________________________________________________

Original digital image by Gerald Schultz.

________________________________________________________

HISTORICAL NOTES:

A public works commissioner's name appearing higher than the mayor's on a dedication plaque?

Perhaps the explanation can be found in the fact that Mayor Hugh John Grant, first elected to that office in 1888 and re-elected in 1890, did not run for re-election in 1892. Instead, his Tammany co-leader Thomas Francis Gilroy, the public works commissioner, ran for mayor and won.

By the way, in 1894, former Mayor Grant (who also had been NY County sheriff) tried to regain his mayoral office but lost to fusion reform candidate William I. Strong. Mayor Strong is remembered for naming Teddy Roosevelt police commissioner and for presiding over the split-up of the Department of Public Charities and Correction into two separate municipal agencies.

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© COPYRIGHTS NOTICE ©

The above view is a scene originally captured on digital camera by free-lance photographer and retired NYC Correction Officer Gerald Schultz (212 222-9161) who reserves and retains all rights thereto. NYCHS appreciates his allowing the use of his photos in this web presentation.

The web page design and text are by NYCHS which reserves and retains all rights thereto. E-mail NYCHS at webmaster@
correctionhistory.org

Note: The unrestored look of the ex-jail and former living quarters in upcoming images and virtual tour sequences constitutes no reflection upon the Civil Court, Harlem Community Justice Center and others active in the restored part of the courthouse structure.

The ex-jail and the former living quarters are not part of the restoration program. Those unrestored parts of the building are outside the mandate of those agencies.

However, to their and their staffs' credit, they demonstrate commendable civic interest in providing what information and assistance they can to researchers studying the history of the ex-jail and former living quarters.