Key Figures in Jefferson Market History

[compiled by Patty Slezak, summer 2000]

Charles Becker Corrupt lieutenant of the New York City Police Department in the early 1900's. He was arrested and charged with ordering the murder of a small-time gambler, Herman Rosenthal, and tried at the Jefferson Market Courthouse in 1912. It was felt by the District Attorney Charles Seymour Whitman that Becker had ordered the murder because Rosenthal had told "The World" (newspaper) and the D.A. that Becker was his partner in a 45th Street gambling house. Becker was sentenced to death by electric chair at Sing Sing in 1915. He was the first police officer to achieve this dubious distinction. Judge Harold Birns Co-chairman of the "Committee of Neighbors to Get the Clock on Jefferson Market Courthouse Started" Giorgio Cavaglieri Venetian-born architect and champion for the reuse of old buildings; responsible for the restoration and conversion of the Jefferson Market Courthouse beginning in 1965. Also, a member of the "Committee for a Library". Joseph Feldman A lawyer who was convicted of stealing 15,000 books from the Jefferson Market library branch and the Hudson Park branch of the NYPL in 1975. Margot Gayle Co-chairman of the "Committee of Neighbors to Get the Clock on Jefferson Market Courthouse Started" (1959); co-chairman of "The Committee for a Library in the Jefferson Market Courthouse." Phil Gerrard Jefferson Market branch librarian during the 1970's when the library was threatened with closure in 1974. John V. Lindsay Mayor of New York from 1966-1973. He was in term when the library was threatened with closure in 1974. Marianne Moore American poet, editor, reviewer, and translator. Neighbor of the Jefferson Market; also worked at one time at the Hudson Park branch library. Lewis Mumford Architectural critic and commentator on urban planning committee member of "The Committee for a Library in the Jefferson Market Courthouse." Writer on the topics of "architecture and the dehumanizing effects of modern technology and urban development. Author of many titles including "The Story of Utopias" (1922); "The Culture of Cities" (1938); "Men Must Act" (1939); "The City in History" (1961). Herman (Beansie) Rosenthal A small-time gambler who was murdered by four gangsters in 1912. Lieutenant Charles Becker of the New York City Police Department ordered the murder. Becker's trial was held at the Jefferson Market Courthouse. Harvey Simpson New York contractor who specializes in restoring and rehabilitating buildings; worked with Giorgio Cavaglieri on the Jefferson Market restoration project. Working with his cousins, they have worked on the Metropolitan Museum in NY and the New York State Capitol building in Albany. George Spinning Greenwich Village antique clock dealer who volunteered to climb the tower and wind the clock until it was electrified. Also, member of the Clock Committee. Harry K. Thaw The murder trial of Thaw was held at the Jefferson Market courthouse in January 1907. The trial ended in a hung jury. A second jury found Thaw not guilty by reason of insanity, and he was sent to an asylum until his release in 1915. Calvert Vaux English architect and landscape architect; architect of the Jefferson Market Courthouse and prison with Frederick Clarke Withers in the mid-1870's. They worked in the style described as Venetian, Victorian, or Italianate Gothic. Robert Ferdinand Wagner, Jr. Mayor of New York from 1954-1965. He was in term when the campaign to convert the courthouse into a library was started in 1959. Mae West Actress, playwright and entertainer. Her first play was entitled "Sex" which opened on Broadway in 1926. It became the target of the Society for the Suppression of Vice. After forty-one weeks, the police arrested the cast and West received a $500 fine, one day at the Jefferson Market Prison and nine days at the workhouse on Welfare Island. Stanford White Architect and partner in the firm of McKim, Mead & White. His affair with Evelyn Nesbit, a chorus girl and model in New York City, (prior to her marriage) resulted in White's murder in 1906 by her husband, Harry K. Thaw. This story inspired the 1955 film, "The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing" and was also retold in E.L Doctorow's novel, "Ragtime" which was later made into a movie in 1981. Frederick Clarke Withers English architect of the Jefferson Market Courthouse and prison with Calvert Vaux in the mid-1870's. They worked in the style described as Venetian, Victorian, or Italianate Gothic. This was Withers most famous design as it included a courthouse, fire and bell tower, prison, and market. Philip Wittenberg Co-chairman of "The Committee for a Library in the Jefferson Market Courthouse."