City Hall of the City of Jersey City: City Hall of the City of Jersey City

City Hall of the City of Jersey City
280 Grove Street
Between Montgomery and Mercer Streets and back to Henderson Street

The City Hall of Jersey City is an elaborate granite and marble structure of mixed-Victorian and Classical architecture. It was designed by the architect Lewis H. Broome (1849-1927) and completed in 1896. A park-like setting and landscaping around the building, similar to that of the City Hall of New York, was planned for the city's second city hall. Commercial structures and residences on an entire city block were leveled for the new city hall.

Jersey City's first city hall was at the southwest corner of Newark Avenue and Cooper Place. After receiving approval from New Jersey Governor Robert S. Green on April 5, 1887, Mayor Orestes Cleveland (1886-1892) appointed three commissioners to oversee the construction of the new Grove Street municipal building. The commission chose the site and then, in 1892, conducted a competition among architects for the design. Broome's plans were selected.

Born in Philadelphia, PA, Broome studied architecture in New York City. After serving in the Civil War with the 77th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, he set up his architectural firm on Washington Street in Jersey City. Broome became the city architect, appointed by the board of public works in 1880. He gained prominence from working in the New Jersey State House. After an 1885 fire severely damaged the building, Broome worked on the rehabilitation of the state's Second Empire-style capitol building, built in 1792. He is responsible for its expansion with a three-story wing on State Street, a redesign of the Assembly wing, and the addition of the iconic rotunda and dome of copper and gold leaf.

Broome's City Hall design, however, did not receive critical acclaim. "Vile," reacted the Architectural Record (September 1895), commenting that a "resulting edifice fairly reeks of vulgarity as reeks the new City Hall of Jersey City" (quoted in "City Council Chambers Renovations." Jersey City Web Site).

Over the years, the building's restorations have resulted in the loss of some exterior architectural features. In 1955, large brass cupolas at the square corners and central towers were removed for safety. In 1978, a contemporary design for the grounds replaced the lawn and shrubs at the front of the building. And a fire in 1979 destroyed three of the five copper friezes. The two remaining pediments were restored in 1995.

Renovations also compromised the building's interior. Design features were painted over and lost their authoritative style. The 1979 fire compounded the deteriorating appearance of the council chambers. In the 1980s, Anna Cucci, the wife of Mayor Anthony Cucci (1985-1988), began a rehabilitation of the council chambers.  A photographer, she started with the restoration and updating of the mayor's portrait gallery. Her accidental death while touring in Peru in 1988 halted the project.

Twenty years later, Cucci's vision to restore the chambers was partially funded by a $300,000 grant from the Hudson County Open Space & Historic Preservation Trust Fund. The total repairs, amounting to $1.9 million, included rehabilitation of the plaster friezes, woodwork, stained glass windows, dome, and oak and mahogany furniture. Modern amenities, such as an HVAC, sound and audio/visual systems, and electrical wiring for the original chandeliers that hang from the wood-coffered ceiling, were installed. Work on the project was by architects Holt Morgan Russell of Princeton and the Jersey City Division of Architecture.

When completed in November 2008, the chambers were renamed the Anna Cucci Memorial Council Chambers and recognized with the 2009 Preservation Award by the New Jersey Historic Preservation Office.