Building of the Day: 360 Adams Street

Brooklyn, one building at a time.

Name: New York State Supreme Court Building
Address: 360 Adams Street
Cross Streets: Cadman Plaza
Neighborhood: Downtown Brooklyn
Year Built: 1957
Architectural Style: Moderne
Architect: Shreve, Lamb & Harmon
Other works by architect: Empire State Building
Landmarked: No

The story: The architects of the Empire State Building designed this courthouse thirty-six years after their masterpiece. They must have run out of ideas. Francis Morrone’s Architectural Guide to Brooklyn calls it an “unloved building that dominates Cadman Plaza like a limestone beached whale.” The entrance has some charm, with iconic reliefs of Moses dispensing the Law, but the bunker-like appearance of the huge building does not meet the other Moses’ — Robert — hope of Cadman Plaza being Brooklyn’s Piazza San Marco. One thing is certain, however. The building has an excellent air-conditioning plant. The jury duty waiting room is the coldest room I’ve ever had to sit in. Brrrr. GMAP

Originally posted April 13, 2009.