Since its opening over 200 years ago on the corner of Mott and Prince Streets in the Nolita section of lower Manhattan, its spiritual mission continues to be the great beacon for the Catholic Faithful and an American symbol of the triumph of religious freedom. Originally the worship center for a largely impoverished Irish community, St. Patrick's, over decades, expanded to provide for the spiritual and material needs of a diverse community, including Italian, African American, Chinese, and Vietnamese Catholics.For more than 200 years, the grounds of St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral have served as a sacred burial place for New York’s Catholic faithful. Revived in 2012, the Basilica now offers limited interment for cremated remains in Manhattan’s only Catholic cemetery. Surrounded by a landmarked brick wall, the historic grounds feature columbaria, catacombs dating to the early 1800s, and a serene landscape of pathways and trees.

Original Location

St. Patrick's Old Cathedral (Lower Manhattan) and Catacombs

Aaron Burr promised Latrobe he would win the competition to design NY City Hall in 1802. But, Joseph Francois Magnin &amp; John McComb Jr won the $350 prize, becoming the oldest continuously occupied City Hall in America since completed in 1811.French Renaissance plus Federal equals this massive administrative and legislative structure. It houses the City Council and the Mayor's Office, with New York's first and most beautiful (now former) subway station buried right beneath it.

Mullets Monstrosity, City Hall, Park Row and City Hall Park.&amp;nbsp;The structure on the right is the Manhattan station for the cable cars which ran across the Brooklyn Bridge.  

McComb Architectural Drawing Collection, Collection of the New-York Historical Society

New York City Hall

 At the statue of Nathan Hale in City Hall Park, Kaplan discusses Hale's life and significance, and the history of City Hall. 

Since its completion in 1815-1816, the Governor's Room has served as a museum and reception hall celebrating the civic history of New York and the nation. Originally comprised of the central chamber only, the two side chambers were added in 1832 (west) and 1848-1849 (east). The Governor's Room houses one of the most important collections of late-18th- to mid-19th-Century American portraiture, including paintings by John Trumbull; historic furnishings, including pieces by Charles Christian and Honor&eacute; Lannuier; and other notable artifacts, such as the desk George Washington used as president while presiding in New York from 1789 to 1790.Many distinguished guests have visited the Governor's Room, including President James Monroe, President Andrew Jackson, the Marquis de Lafayette, Albert Einstein, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The room hosted President-elect Abraham Lincoln in 1861, and served as the backdrop for his coffin in 1865 as he lay in state.

Governor's Room at City Hall

The Park Theatre, originally known as the New Theatre, was a significant three-story playhouse in New York City located at Park Row. Designed by Marc Isambard Brunel, it opened in 1798, and quickly became the epicenter of New York's theatrical scene. Despite financial difficulties and a plain dressed-stone exterior due to budget constraints, the theatre offered lavish interiors and hosted high-class performances, including English dramas and Italian opera.&nbsp;

Over three months in 1807, English-born architect John Joseph Holland remodeled the theatre's interior. He added gas lighting, coffee rooms, roomier boxes, and a repainted ceiling.

The Park burned down and was destroyed except for its exterior walls. The owners rebuilt and reopened in September 1821.&nbsp;In the early 1820s, the New Theatre was the only theatre in New York City, benefiting from a lack of competition and enjoying its most profitable period. However, this changed with the opening of the Chatham Garden Theatre in 1823, which challenged its dominance, followed by the Bowery Theatre in 1826. As newer venues emerged, the New Theatre became known as the Park Theatre, marking the end of its singular prominence in the city's cultural scene.By the late 1820s and early 1830s, the Bowery and Chatham Garden theaters in New York began attracting more working-class audiences, while the Park Theatre became the preferred venue for the upper class. The neighborhood's evolution aided this shift, as wealthy residents moved northward. Park Theatre was established in the increasingly upscale area near the now-built City Hall. This change in the social landscape reinforced the Park's status as a premier cultural institution.

Managed by Stephen Price and Edmund Simpson, it thrived until it was destroyed by fire in 1848.

The section of Manhattan where the theatre stood was not stylish: the New Theatre, as it was called, was neighbor to Bridewell Prison, a tent city's worth of squatters, and the local poorhouse

In the traditional European style&nbsp;

Park Theatre

They arrived in New York City, where Mangin became a surveyor for the city, and a naturalized citizen in 1796.&nbsp;

Joseph-François Mangin was an American architect who designed many landmarks in the 18th and 19th century-New York. He is noted for designing New York City Hall and St. Patrick's Old Cathedral in New York City. He is also known for the 1801 Mangin-Goerck Plan or Map of New York City, which proposed landfill work and a new street grid, was highly influential in the design of Lower Manhattan.

Joseph-Francois Mangin

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HISTORIC MAPS