Office of Borough President James P. Molinaro
Staten Island, New York
Staten Island Borough Hall
Murals in the Main Lobby at Borough Hall depict the history of Staten Island.
The Staten Island Borough Hall is located on Stuyvesant Street and Borough Place. It houses the Borough President's Office, offices of the Departments of Buildings and Transportation and other civic offices.
A designated New York City Landmark., the building was completed in 1906 as the Borough Hall and continues in its original use. When Staten Island was consolidated as part of New York City in 1898, St. George was selected as Staten Island’s new civic center, replacing Richmond Town, the former seat of the Richmond County government.
This French Renaissance style brick building is three stories high with a massive two-story mansard roof. There is lavish limestone trim, including a stone base, stone center entrance, window enframements and Doric columns separating the windows. The high clock tower in the center can be seen from the harbor and throughout St. George. The plan consists of a center section and two pavilions. The front facade faces Richmond Terrace and the rear facade which overlooks the harbor.
On the inside the grand marble lobby contains a series of significant WPA reliefs and murals painted in 1940 by Frederick Charles Stahr, illustrating events in Staten Island history. The second-floor courtroom has carved wood paneling, a coffered plaster ceiling and early furniture.
Borough Hall was designed by Carrere & Hastings, one of the most influential firms in this country in the early twentieth century. John Carrere, a resident of Staten Island, helped select the dramatic hilltop site of Borough Hall, and was involved with the plan and development of the Civic Center. The firm also designed the Richmond County Courthouse next door, the original Staten Island Ferry Terminal (which burned) and the St. George Branch Library. Other Carrere & Hastings designs include the New York Public Library, the monumental Manhattan Bridge Approach, and the first congressional office buildings in Washington, D.C. (the Russell Senate office building and the Cannon House office building).