A Castle Library

As you walk down the Sixth Avenue in Manhattan's Greenwich Village area, around West 10th Street your eyes will wander toward a structure of most curious appearance. You may overhear a German tourist refer to it as Kirche (A Church), whatever it is, you will say to yourself that it resembles a castle planted in the middle of Manhattan by sheer providence (not literally), for it is clear as daylight that geologic origin of these stones (is that what they are?) lie across the ocean in The Old World. After all, Mr.Rockefeller did transport Medieval castle to uptown, now known as the Cloisters Museum. Naturally, these silly thoughts will find no support in the mind of a knowledgeable New-Yorker. For the purpose of clearing this mystery up we shall consult Dr.Jansenbroker, a man that has, according to some rumors, walked the streets of New York for longer than it has carried this name. Dr.Jansenbroker, would be so kind as to take us back in time?

Back in the old days, this entire area was miles away from the city. It was prime farmland that provided relative security due to its closeness to the city as opposed to Brooklyn, Queens, New Jersey and Upstate Manhattan, where Indian or English attacks were always on the locals mind. Those who did well in Brooklyn, could afford to buy some land up here and finally settle down without much worries. Even the governor, at one time, owned a patch of farmland here. Even earlier than that, in the 1630's, this was the first land outside the city to be cultivated by those daring to go beyond Wall Street. New Yorkers, perhaps lacking in eloquence, referred to this wild area as "The Woods." Nothing much changed here for over a century, even after the British came, time seemed to be on halt in the village. It grew, more farmers came, land grew more and more expensive and gradually it was transformed from a farming village to the first suburbian getaway for New Yorkers, if you will.

By 1712 the village was officially recognized as such. In the 1820's the great flight of wealthy New Yorkers occurred during the yellow fever epidemic. Greenwich Village offered fresh air in close geographic proximity to the city. Farms were now disappearing, moving further and further uptown and entire streets of rowhouses rose up to accomodate the growing population. Many of those residential buildings of 1830's still stand throughout the village. It was during that population and construction boom that a fire tower named in honor of Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States, was built next to the market on the very spot of our mysterious castle library. The late President had died less than a decade ago and was still very much alive in the memories of grateful New Yorkers. Though it must be said that New Yorkers tended to favor his lifelong friend and opponent - John Adams, who had died on the very same day, yet no fire tower was named in his honor.

It was part of a series of 11 fire towers built in New York, equipped with enormous bells that could be heard throughout the city to alert and provide direction for the city fire department. On top of the tower a watchman stood, gazing down on the carriage filled dirty streets and disappearing fields. By 1870's this system became obsolete due to telegraphic alarms. The tower was reconstructed, inspired by Neogothic architecture in Germany, particularly the Schloss Neuwaschwanstein, a newly built castle in the Bavarian mountains, that was intended to look as if it jumped out of a fairytale. In 1874 construction began on The Market Jefferson Courthouse, the very title of which paid homage to its ancestral fire tower, third President and a market which has long since disappeared into the darkness of history. Construction of the courthouse ended on 1877. This new building embodied the very essence of the Victorian trend. Faced with rapid transission of their world by technological and social means, they craved to hold on to the past. The romantic fables of the glorious time, which were, in fact, not as glorious as many want to believe, brought nostalgic and aeshtetic satisfaction to a Victorian person. Their architecture echoed Gothic, Renaissance, Romanesque and Byzantine epochs. Perhaps as a reminder that some things are eternal and they can always count on them when facing metamorphoses of the industrial world. The Jefferson Market Courthouse was exactly that; a Neogothic castle with a watch tower producing an air of mystique that captivate our minds. In the 1880's it was voted as one of the 10 most beautiful buildings in the United States by a group of architects, a testament to that era's aesthetic tastes and to the architecture of this building.
An elevated El train blocked its view for a couple of decades until it was taken down in 1939 and one can, once again, appreciate its beauty in the entirety.

In 1945 the building was no longer used as a courthouse and was in danger of being demolished. For some years it was used by the Police Academy. In 1959 it stood abandoned, crawling with rodents, it's neglected condition led some to call upon its destruction. However, by 1961 a decision has been reached to preserve and portect it. From now on it was destined to serve as a library. In 1967 the library was opened after excessive renovations of the structure. In 1972 it was listed in the Nationa Registry of Historic Places and designated a landmark in 1977. This is the tale of a castle that is not really a castle, echoing from a time period in which it echoed yet another time period and whose origins, depending on perspective, may have roots in medieval Europe or the great flight of New Yorkers in the 1820's.

Today, it is a rather an average library, despite its odd appearance. The library is open to public and whether you are looking to buy a used book on the second floor for 25 cents or experience the Gothic interior design of its chambers, try to appreciate the legacy you are stepping into.