Long Island City Courthouse Complex

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The Long Island City Courthouse Complex in Long Island City, Queens is a criminal courthouse. It was built in 1874, but remodeled in 1904 after a fire destroyed a portion of it. The current courthouse was designed by Peter M. Coco in 1904.

Two jails were part of the complex, but were turned into a parking garage in 1988. The parking structure was designed by Chicago-based architecture firm, Skidmore, Owings and Merrill.

The architect of the original building is unknown. The building was raised from two stories to four stories in order to accommodate the needs of the court. The architectural style of the court is Neo-English Renaissance. It is made of stone, ceramic tile, limestone, and metal.

The Long Island City Courthouse is a historical Queens Site, as registered with The National Register of Historic places, as is The Courthouse Complex, located at 25-10 Court Square, Long Island City. The courthouse was constructed between 1904 and 1908 in the Renaissance Revival-Baux Arts, designed by the architect George Hathorne. It was then considered to be one of the most important buildings in Queens County. There appears to be conflicting dates, as one source reports the construction taking place between 1872 and 1876.

The location of the LIC courthouse was decided on, as the Queens County Seat moved from Jamaica to LIC, due to the access to all the train lines near and around LIC.

[edit] Further reading

An article in Newsday written by staff writer Geoffrey Mohan [1], gives an interesting historical account of the relocation of the Queens County Courthouse from Garden City Park, Nassau County, and then to Long Island City, and refers to this relocation as one of decades of controversy, and possible reasons contributing to county sessesion.

The courthouse and its surrounding complex has undergone rejuvenation and renovations in the past few years.

Liz Skalka, a Chronicle Correspondent, reported on August 24, 2006 that: "The ornate courthouse began undergoing repairs in May that included renovations on its brick exterior and new roofing on the main building and its wings. Both are to protect against water damage. A prominent third floor courtroom, noted for its two story stained glass ceiling, is also being restored, and will receive new wooden flooring similar to its original. The entire project is expected to take about a year."

[edit] Kew Gardens

Directions: Most of the Criminal Courtrooms are now located at 125-01 Queens Blvd., next to Borough Hall. Queens Criminal Court is easily accessible by subway, car, and bus.

By Subway Go to the UNION TURNPIKE subway station. The two main lines stopping at Union Turnpike are the E and F lines. Coming from the direction of New York City, get out at the front of the train and exit in the direction of the train, bearing to your left up the stairs to Queens Blvd. Continue walking down Queens Blvd. away from the direction of Manhattan. You will walk by Borough Hall. Keep going until you get to the next big building across a small street. In front of the building is a large sculpture with a top that spins in the wind. This is Criminal Court. Coming from the direction of Jamaica, Queens, get out at the back of the train and exit up and out back toward the direction of Jamaica. Bear left up the stairs to Queens Blvd. Continue walking down Queens Blvd. away from the direction of Manhattan. You will walk by Borough Hall. Keep going until you get to the next big building across a small street. In front of the building is a large sculpture with a top that spins in the wind. This is Criminal Court.

By Car Generally, by car the Kew Gardens Courthouse can be easily reached off the Grand Central Parkway (Eastbound, Queens Blvd. exit) or off the Van Wyck Expressway (going toward Kennedy Airport take the Union Turnpike Exit, coming from direction of Kennedy Airport take Queens Blvd. exit)

By Bus The Q60, Q37, Q74 and Q46 buses all have stops in close proximity to the Courthouse.