Stadt Huys (City Hall)
Birth of a City: Nieuw Amsterdam & Old New York
STADT HUYS (CITY HALL)
Location: Broad Street & Coenties Alley
Dutch Name: Langs Straet (Along the Shore)
New York’s first city government began meeting across the street in 1653, after the Dutch West India Company agreed to grant municipal rights to the townspeople. Built as a waterfront tavern in 1642, the structure served well as the city hall because it was one of the town’s largest public buildings.
Appointed by Director-General Stuyvesant and his council, burgomasters and magistrates conducted the city’s financial business, sat as a trial court, and kept a jail here. After taking over in 1664, the English continued to use the building as New York’s city hall until 1697. The city government later moved to a new building at the corner of Wall and Nassau Streets (today the location of the Federal Hall National Memorial).
In 1979, archeologists dug here before the current office tower was erected. They uncovered the foundations of Stadt Huys, as well as those of an English tavern built in 1670, and numerous artifacts. Today, you can view the outlines of these colonial buildings, as well as foundation stones under glass beneath the modern sidewalk.
Marker is on Pearl Street, on the right when traveling east.
Courtesy hmdb.org
