The General Theological Seminary

Some time about the year 1750 Captain Clarke, a veteran of the provincial army, who had seen considerable service in the French war, built a country house, two or three miles north of the city, to which he gave the name of Chelsea. He gave it this name because he said it was to be the retreat of an old soldier in the evening of his days.

It has been thought that the name of Greenwich was given to the neighboring estate by Admiral Warren for a corresponding sentimental reason, but Mr. Janvier, in that very entertaining book, "In Old New York," shows that the name of Greenwich was in use long before the admiral's advent. Captain Clarke, unfortunately, was not destined long to enjoy the house he had built. During his last illness, the house caught fire and the captain came very near being burned with it, but he was carried out by neighbors and shortly after died in an adjacent farmhouse. Mrs. Clarke rebuilt the house on the crest of a hill that sloped down to the river about three hundred feet distant.

The estate descended to her daughter, the wife of Bishop Moore, and in 1813 it was conveyed to their son, Clement C. Moore, by whom the old house was considerably enlarged. The house was taken down when the bulkhead along the river front was constructed by the city. Mr. Moore gave the whole of the block bounded by Twentieth and Twenty-first streets and Ninth and Tenth avenues to the General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church, and it became known as Chelsea Square. The building here shown was built about 1835 and is constructed of a gray stone. The modern buildings, however, are of brick and stone, of a Gothic style and, with the old trees remaining and the stretches of green lawn, produce, especially in summer time, a suggestion of English seclusion and repose quite at variance with the bustle and the crudeness of that part of the city.

St. Mark's in the Bowery

When Stuyvesant retired from office, after the British occupation, he withdrew to his "Bowerie" or farm near the site of the present church, then two miles out of town. In 1660 he built a small chapel near his house for the people of the little village that sprang up about the farm, as well as for his own family and the salves, of whom there were about forty in the vicinity. This chapel was torn down in 1793, and the Petrus Stuyvesant of that day offered to present the ground and eight hundred pounds in money to Trinity parish if it would build a church there. This offer was accepted. In May, 1799, the church was finished and the body of it has remained intact to the present time, but there was no steeple before 1828. One pew was reserved for the governor of the State, and the corresponding pew on the other side for "Mr. Stuyvesant and family forever," each pew being surmounted by a canopy. The negro servants (slaves) sat in the rear of the congregation.

In a vault under the chapel the governor's body had been placed after his death, in 1672, and in 1691 the body of the English governor (Sloughter) was also placed there. In building the church Stuyvesant's remains were removed and placed in a vault beneath the walls of the new edifice. The stone which may be seen fastened to the outer wall bears the following inscription: "In this vault lies buried Petrus Stuyvesant, late Captain General and Governor in Chief of Amsterdam in New Netherlands, now called New York, and the Dutch West India Islands, died A.D. 1671-2, aged 80 years." In July, 1804, the church was draped in mourning for the death of Hamilton, and was so kept for six weeks.

The Barge Office

It is located at the Battery, and is a handsome granite edifice. It is described in connection with the Battery Park. It is the headquarters of the Inspectors connected with the Surveyor's office. When the arrival of a steamer or vessel from a foreign port is announced by the telegraph operator at Sandy Hook, several Inspectors are sent down in a revenue tug to take charge of her. As soon as they go on board the vessel they have absolute control of her passengers and cargo. Should the vessel be a steamer from abroad, they accompany her to her anchorage in the river, examine the baggage of the passengers, and take charge of all containing dutiable articles; see that the proper duties are levied and collected, and if the amount of the duties exceeds a certain sum, send the trunks or parcels to the public store for appraisement. They remain on the vessel until she reaches her landing, and then turn her over to the Custom House officials appointed to supervise the discharge of her cargo.

The Cooper Union

It occupies the triangular space formed by the junction of the Bowery, Third and Fourth avenues and 7th street, one square east of Broadway. It is a plain but massive and imposing edifice of brownstone, six stories high, with a large basement below the level of the streets. It was erected by Peter Cooper in 1857, at a cost of $630,000, and was endowed by him with $150,000, for the support of the free reading room and library. The street floor is let out in stores, and the floor above is occupied with offices of various kinds. These floors and the great hall in the basement yield a handsome revenue, which is devoted to paying a part of the expenses of the institution. The remainder of the building is devoted to a free library and reading room, and halls for lectures and for study. The institution was designed by Mr. Cooper for the free instruction of the working classes in science, art, English literature, the foreign languages, and telegraphy. Of late years there has been added to it a school of design for women. The course of instruction is very thorough, the ablest teachers being employed, and the standard of scholarship is high.

The Bible House

It stands immediately facing the Cooper Union, and occupies the entire block bounded by Third and Fourth avenues and 8th and 9th streets. It is a massive structure of red brick, covers an area of three-quarters of an acre, and is six stories in height. It was erected in 1852 and 1853, at a cost of $303,000, but is today worth more than twice that sum. It is the property of the American Bible Society, and besides the portion occupied by that organization, contains fifty stores and offices, which return a rental of more than $40,000. Many of the stores on the ground floor are occupied by dealers in religious books, and the offices are mainly taken up by benevolent and charitable societies. The greater portion of the building is occupied by the offices, the printing establishment, and the bindery of the American Bible Society. Over six hundred persons are employed in these establishments, and six thousand Bibles are printed, and three hundred and fifty Bibles are bound and finished, and sent to the warerooms every day.

The National Academy of Design

It is located at the northwest corner of Fourth avenue and 23d street, and is one of the most beautiful and artistic buildings in New York. It is built in the pure Gothic style of the thirteenth century, and is constructed of gray and white marble and bluestone, artistically blended, and producing a novel and pleasing effect. The 23d street front is eighty feet, and the Fourth avenue side ninety feet in length. A double flight of steps leads to the main entrance, and is ornamented with beautiful carvings and a drinking fountain, all of which blend harmoniously with the general design. The main entrance on 23d street, leads to a handsome vestibule, paved with variegated marbles. From this a massive and imposing stairway leads to the exhibition galleries, which are located in the third story and lifted from the roof. The first and second stories are devoted to the reception room, offices, lecture rooms, art schools, and the library. All the halls and rooms are finished handsomely in white pine, ash, mahogany, oak, and black walnut, in their natural colors, no paint being used on the woodwork of the building. Great care is exercised in the admission of pupils, as it is designed to restrict the schools to those who intend to make art the profession of their lives.

Washington Hall

On the southeast corner of Reade street a stable was afterward erected, and remained until the erection of Washington Hall, which was commenced in 1810, and finished in 1812. This building, in an architectural point of view, was, at the time of its erection, one of the handsomest structures in the city. The architect was John McComb, and the building Committee of the Washington Benevolent Society, under whose auspices it was erected, were Robert Morris, Jr., John McComb, Richard Furman, and John B. Coles. It was erected about the same time, that Tammany Hall was built by the opposite party.

Its subsequent uses were as a public hall, for meetings, assemblies, &c., and it was also kept as a hotel, being conducted during many of its early years by Peter McIntyre. Its early history is also intimately identified with the old Federal party, of which it was the headquarters, and in its hall of meeting were witnessed many of the exciting events which characterized our political history at about the period of the last war with Great Britain. It was not well adapted to the uses of a public house, and was finally purchased by Mr. A. T. Stewart, who erected upon its site the elegant marble building which was the pioneer of that class of structures on Broadway.

The New York Society Library Association

This institution, which was the oldest of the kind in New York, had previously been located in Nassau street, opposite the Dutch church (now Post-office). They sold their property in 1836 for $44,200, and with those and other funds derived from the New York Athenaeum, then merged with them, they purchased the site in Broadway, containing sixty feet front and one hundred feet deep, at a cost of $47,500. The edifice cost about $70,000, the result leaving the Library considerably in debt. The building was completed in 1839. The Library Association occupied the premises until 1853,, when they sold to Appleton & Co., publishers, for the sum of $110,000, by whom it is still occupied.

Trinity Church

Trinity Church was erected in 1696; the first sermon being preached on the 6th February, 1697, by Rev. Mr. Vesey, who continued as pastor until his death, about fifty years subsequently. The church was enlarged in 1737, it being one hundred and forty-eight feet in length and seventy-two in breadth. The steeple was a hundred and seventy-eight feet high. In 1761, it was struck by lightning, and consumed to the belfry. An excellent organ, brought from London, was one of the attractions of this edifice. Beneath the floor were vaults of the leading families attached to the congregation, denoted by sculptured entablatures along the side walls in the building.

After the return of peace, a new edifice was erected, which was consecrated by Bishop Provost, in 1791. The size of this building was somewhat less than the former, being one hundred and four feet by seventy-two. The steeple was one hundred and ninety-eight feet high, and contained a chime of bells. In the interior were galleries on the two sides; an organ loft at the east end. At the west end was the chancel, in front of which were the desk and pulpit. Several elegant cut glass chandeliers depended from a gothic ceiling. The windows were of gothic form, with very small panes of glass. A very large gothic window, containing over a thousand panes of glass occupied the west end of the building.

In 1839, Trinity Church was demolished and gave place to the present elegant structure. There have been no interments in the church-yard since 1822, about which period a law was passed forbidding interments south of Canal street. It was said that at that time that the church records showed upward of a hundred and sixty thousand burials to have been made within that small enclosure, but it is probable this was an exaggeration.

The City's Office Building

The Municipal Building, the grandest and highest municipal building in the world, covers three irregular city blocks. It is occupied exclusively by the employees of the city, who number over 7,500, quite a town by itself. The building has 26 stories, rising to a height of 330 feet above the street, surmounted by a tower 210 feet high, and holding eight stories. The total height from the subway arcade to the top of the 24 foot figure on the tower is 560 feet. The principal front, facing Centre Street, is 448 feet long, the rear on Park Row is 361 feet, the Duane Street side is 339 feet and the Tryon Row side, facing the south, is 71 feet long. The foundation is 130 feet below the street level and 90 feet below water level. The cost of the building is about $10,000,000. The Mayor's office and the chambers of the Board of Aldermen, and offices required by close subordinates of the Mayor and Aldermen and the Police, Fire and Dock Departments are still continued in the City Hall.

Under the Municipal Building is the most important passenger transportation point in the city. Here converge the subways of the east and west sides of Manhattan, the Fourth Avenue to Brooklyn and Coney Island, and the Elevated under the East River to East New York, Cypress Hills and Jamaica. When the entire system of subways is completed it will be possible to take a train here and go to any part of the Metropolis.