Tweed Courthouse
Tweed Courthouse
4
About
A building with a shady past, this 1872 Italianate courthouse was built when William Marcy "Boss" Tweed who, in his post as city supervisor, stole millions of dollars in construction funds.
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The area
Address
Neighbourhood: Downtown Manhattan (Downtown)
How to get there
- Brooklyn Bridge – City Hall • 2 min walk
- City Hall • 2 min walk
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.0
65 reviews
Excellent
23
Very good
27
Average
12
Poor
2
Terrible
1
Thomas V
Oakland, CA18,472 contributions
May 2023
Scandals followed the expensive construction of this big city hall building in the Nineteenth Century. Now it is an impressive historic building in the City Hall area of town. Part of a collection that makes this part of town very well-designed.
Written 12 June 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Luvs2TravelAnywhere
New York City, NY7,170 contributions
May 2016
The Tweed Courthouse is a landmark building with a fascinating history. Even if you don't have a lot of time, it only takes a few minutes to stop into their lobby - the restoration is wonderful!
Written 5 June 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
elliemdw
New York City, NY5 contributions
Jul 2017
It was a nice day. There were a lot of pepole but they were treated with courtesy and it is interesting to how things were going. I was with friends.
Written 7 July 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Marathonwinner
Toronto, Canada113 contributions
Nov 2011 • Couples
New York City Hall tours are temporarily cancelled but the there are regular free guided tours of the Tweed Courthouse just behind City Hall. Ours was truly stimulating, but you have to have some interest in historic architecture or you might be disappointed.
The woman who guided us was a well versed and enthusiastic historic architect who knew the fascinating story of Tweed Courthouse inside out. She truly made the tour a memorable event. She told us all about the famous Boss Tweed who went to jail for his antics around the building of this place, and she thoroughly explored all the architectural elements which make this such a beautiful and important building. And it is beautiful. It took 20 years to build it and during that time tastes changed with the result that you can witness the intermingling of the two periods in the building.
But I repeat the warning. You'd better have a basic interest in this sort of thing. The tour was over one and a half hours and was pretty intense. College level.
By the way, you can't just show up. There is a schedule on their website and you need to phone or email days in advance, get approval. and then present photo ID at the door.
So you work hard on this one but the reward is considerable.
The woman who guided us was a well versed and enthusiastic historic architect who knew the fascinating story of Tweed Courthouse inside out. She truly made the tour a memorable event. She told us all about the famous Boss Tweed who went to jail for his antics around the building of this place, and she thoroughly explored all the architectural elements which make this such a beautiful and important building. And it is beautiful. It took 20 years to build it and during that time tastes changed with the result that you can witness the intermingling of the two periods in the building.
But I repeat the warning. You'd better have a basic interest in this sort of thing. The tour was over one and a half hours and was pretty intense. College level.
By the way, you can't just show up. There is a schedule on their website and you need to phone or email days in advance, get approval. and then present photo ID at the door.
So you work hard on this one but the reward is considerable.
Written 19 November 2011
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Matt S
Staffordshire, UK370 contributions
Nov 2019 • Family
Just stumbled across this massive ornate building.
Never went in, don’t know if you can but it’s definitely worth a look if your around.
Never went in, don’t know if you can but it’s definitely worth a look if your around.
Written 2 November 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Carmen R
New York City, NY73 contributions
Mar 2017
A trip to downtown Manhattan should include a tour of this beautiful home of the Tweed Courthouse. Whether you are a tourist or a student, there is something in this building of interest for all. There are many costly tours and also one offered for free that provides all of the gossip and the truth surrounding the building and politics the that walls of the Tweed Courthouse have witnessed.
Written 27 April 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
seanworc
New York City, NY720 contributions
Oct 2016 • Solo
The Tweed Courthouse is now the home of the New York City Department of Education. BTW, NYC has the largest and most diverse public school system in the USA. The building has a notorious history. In the late 1800s, the city was controlled by a public group called Tammany Hall, led by the infamous Boss Tweed. The construction of the building led to massive cost overruns that were funneled to Boss Tweed and his cronies. There are some wonderful John Nash cartoons of Boss Tweed that visitors can check out online. The building is right next to City Hall and near the foot entrance to the Brooklyn Bridge. Worth a brief visit of the exterior. A sad lesson in corruption.
Written 31 October 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
jimbo1
new york23 contributions
Jul 2016
take an hour and do the tour at the Tweed courthouse if you are into historic architecure of New York and incredible stories of "Tammany Hall" this is for you.too bad it is under utilized for municipal offices this should be a venue and event space terrific....... the meeting space and old courtrooms a real hoot !!!
Believe me troops this is a fun 2 hours mid week right after lunch,
Jimbo Bateso
Believe me troops this is a fun 2 hours mid week right after lunch,
Jimbo Bateso
Written 19 September 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Nora_Elle_P
New York City, NY15 contributions
Aug 2015
This is where the head honchos of the NYC Department of Education have their offices. Beautifully-maintained municipal building, but generally closed to the public except for public tours held usually on Fridays. Go up long flight of stairs and ask security guard for brochure about public tours which has phone number to call.
Written 23 August 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Elwin1005
Portland, OR8 contributions
Dec 2013 • Solo
Free tour. You MUST! make a reservation. Long tour (1 1/2 + hours). It is an exciting tour for those interested in NY politics and the era of political bosses. Great building for those interested in architecture - it took 20 years! to build.
Written 26 November 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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