#in1899

Once we’ve begun, if we stand as one

“Someday” becomes “somehow”

Located in City Hall Park, New York’s City Hall is an impressive edifice.  Built between 1803 and 1812, it is one of the oldest continually used City Halls in the nation that is still used for its original governmental function.  Although it makes virtually no appearance in the movie, in reality its three-story marble façade would have overshadowed Newsies Square, where our newsboys were pelvic-thrusting their way to victory.  One can imagine Les entreating the Mayor to “Buy me last pape, Mister?”  

While visiting City Hall, you may be tempted to protest Mayor Robert Van Wyck’s treatment of the newsies’ strike.  Van Wyck was not up for reelection in 1899, despite Pulitzer using that as a bargaining chip in the movie, but his term was beset by political scandal.  A state legislature investigation in 1899 concluded that the Mayor was a “dictator” who “abdicated” his powers to Tammany Hall bosses.  

Van Wyck probably would have felt betrayed by Pulitzer when, a year later, the New York World revealed his involvement in the “Ice Trust” scandal.  Van Wyck and other politicians provided political protection for the American Ice Company’s monopoly over ice distribution in the city and their plans to double the price of ice—a dangerous decision in a time when the populace depended on ice to keep their perishable food from spoiling.  Perhaps it made a good headline for our newsies—although as we all know, a crooked politician, “ain’t news no more.”

Sadly, City Hall is currently under renovation and tours into its truly impressive interior have been postponed until further notice. Be sure to check out the back of the building, though.  When City Hall was built, it was so clearly at the City’s northern edge that the rear of the building was faced with brownstone, cheaper than the marble used on the rest of the building.  No one would see it, right?  But by the time Jack and the gang were singing and dancing, the city had extended well past City Hall.

Courthouses play a big role in Newsies, what with the boys’ run-in with the law and all.  It’s unlikely that you would have seen Race in the Tweed Courthouse rolling the judge double or nothing on his bail, though.  It doesn’t appear that this courthouse was used for such petty crimes as inciting to riot.  But it was the site of a political scandal so big it would have made any newsie jump for joy—if they hadn’t been born a few years too late. 

In 1899, the Tweed Courthouse may have been just another place to sell papes, but in 1871 it brought down Boss Tweed, of Tammany Hall fame.  Tweed apparently had sticky fingers.  The building, originally estimated to cost $250,000, ultimately cost $13 million—more than the US paid for Alaska—and that’s not even counting inflation.  “Some for the building and some for me,” seemed to be the mantra of every contractor, who would do work, undo work, redo work, stop, and then start again.  Tweed, for his part, was busily hoarding 25% of the building’s cost for himself. 

Evidently, he was about as good a thief as Jack because in 1871 The New York Times ran a series of articles that laid clear the corruption.  In 1873 Tweed was tried and convicted in an unfinished courtroom in the courthouse and sentenced to 12 years in prison. 

Roosevelt did not give Tweed a ride out in his carriage, but, much like Jack, he still escaped.  He was wise enough to leave the city, eventually ending up in Spain.  He was apprehended again, thanks to caricatures by Thomas Nast—who perhaps inspired the Jack of Papermill’s production—which ensured that Tweed’s face was familiar the wide world over.      

Today, the building houses the Department of Education and a school, but you can still visit it.  Even though it’s not really a part of Newsies, it’s still worth the trip—if not to learn about Boss Tweed than to at least hear about the fascinatingly mismatched architecture.  And while you’re there, ask yourself this puzzling question: “Why would they name a building after someone who embezzled millions of dollars during its construction?”