A Brief History of Jefferson Market
(Greenwich Ave between W 10th St. and Christopher Street)
Jefferson Market was first established in 1833. At the time, the site consisted of rows of merchants’ sheds and a tall wooden lookout tower used for spotting nearby fires. It was one of three markets serving the neighborhood (along with the Weehawken Market and Greenwich Market), and the one to survive the longest.
During the 1870’s, the city announced plans for construction of a new watchtower and courthouse. Frederick Withers and Calvert Vaux were hired to design the awe-inspiring Jefferson Market Courthouse. This Victorian Gothic-style courthouse included the tall watchtower that still stands today, and was modeled after the spires of Ludwig II’s Neuschwanstein in Bavaria. Construction was completed in 1877, with a masonry market building then added in 1883 (designed by Douglas Smyth), which replaced the old sheds. The courthouse was voted one of the 10 most beautiful buildings in America by a national poll of architects in 1885.
The Jefferson Market site surrounding the courthouse was then also demolished in 1927, replaced by the Art Deco-designed Women’s House of Detention building (1931, Sloan and Robertson). From 1931 on, the Jefferson Market Courthouse was used solely for hearing the trials of women, and continued to do so up until 1945, when court was no longer held at Jefferson Market. After being briefly inhabited by various groups (i.e. the Police Academy), the courthouse was eventually abandoned, and by 1958, the building’s future was uncertain. Then, in 1961, the mayor announced plans for preservation of Jefferson Market Courthouse. The courthouse was to be converted into a branch of the New York Public Library. Construction officially began in 1965, with the library first opening its doors in 1967.
The New York Women’s House of Detention operated from 1932-1974. Famous prisoners incarcerated there included Mae West (who was charged with obscenity for her play, ‘Sex‘) and Valerie Solanas (who shot Andy Warhol). After years of complaints from the neighborhood residents, the prison was eventually closed in 1971, and the site demolished a year later. Debate began on what to do with the vacant lot. Some Villagers wanted the Urban Center of the New School, while many in the queer community wanted the site turned into a community center. It instead would become one of the most beautiful garden’s in all of New York City. The land for Jefferson Market Garden was transferred to the New York City Parks Department, but then entrusted to the care of the Jefferson Market Garden Committee, Inc., a grassroots group of volunteers from the neighborhood. The garden’s original landscape artist was Pamela Berdan. It still operates as a community run garden today.
