In April, 1846, the county treasurer issued $2000 of bonds for the erection of the Penitentiary. In 1849 $10,000 more were issued. The total amount of bonds issued up to March 2, 1854, was $155,000. On the 5th of June, 1855, the committee reported that the cost thus far of the easterly and main wing was $111,433.49. The new Penitentiary was occupied as early as January, 1854, although it was not completed until August, 1856. The total amount of bonds issued for the Penitentiary was $205,000. It was not until May 3, 1855, that steps were taken to build the female wing of the new Penitentiary. On the 5th of April, 1853, an act was passed by the Legislature requiring that whenever the Penitentiary should be ready for the reception of prisoners, the Board of Supervisors should file a certificate thereof in the office of the clerk of the county, and publish a notice thereof for three weeks in one or more newspapers, and that thereafter all persons who, on conviction, are liable to imprisonment for not less than thirty days, should be sent there by the magistrates. The Penitentiary is situated on a spot familiarly called Crow Hill, and is bounded by Nostrand, Rogers, President, and Carroll streets. It faces on Carroll Street. Prisoners have been sent here from all parts of the State, and, through the efficient management of its wardens, it has been rendered nearly, if not wholly, self-supporting. The increase of business and the unsuitableness of location rendered it necessary to change the place for holding the courts. The Legislature was again appealed to, and in 1853 an act was passed authorizing the county to borrow a sum not to exceed $100,000, to purchase a site, and erect buildings for such county offices as the Board of Supervisors might designate. Many sites were offered, and various and diverse propositions and suggestions were made. Some were anxious to have the Court House built on Fort Greene, holding that it would, from its elevation, give character to the building. The matter slumbered until October 10, 1855, when it was again brought up and postponed indefinitely. The difficulty of securing a suitable site now presented itself. Seventeen lots on Vanderbilt Avenue near Baltic Street were proposed, and the Board resolved to purchase them. Soon after the purchase the people, realizing that it was not a proper place, instituted opposition.