A History of the City of Brooklyn and Kings County, Volume II.Ostrander, Stephen M.
History
A History of the City of Brooklyn and Kings County, Volume II.
Ostrander, Stephen M.
Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) -- History; Kings County (N.Y.) -- History
During the years of the war the voice of the Brooklyn press gave no
uncertain sound. The "Eagle" had become a lusty leader of public
opinion. The "Times" on the other side of the city was making for
itself a creditable name. The "Daily Union," established in 1863,
voiced the ardor of the Union cause with energetic patriotism. German
readers found in the "Long Island Anzeiger,"[33] started in 1864,
cordial support to every good Northern principle in a strain worthy of
the young journal's editor, Colonel Henry E. Roehr, who had been one
of the earliest volunteers, and won many honors at the front. In 1872
Colonel Roehr began the publication of a German daily paper, the "Freie
Presse."
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.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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