A little bit of City Hall history
Pres. Lincoln's funeral - removal of the body from the City Hall to the funeral car in NYC, as illustrated in Harper's Weekly on May 13, 1865. Credit: Library of Congress
Abraham Lincoln was mourned here in 1865, Ulysses S. Grant in 1885. Police rioted here — in 1857 and 1993.
Since the early 1800s, the plaza in front of New York City Hall has hosted mass celebrations — the laying of the first transatlantic cable, in 1857; welcoming the crew of the the Apollo 11, in 1969; and then celebrating the Yankees, in the late 1990s; the Giants Super Bowl victory, in 2008; and the New York Liberty's championship win, in 2024.
And Thursday at City Hall, one of America’s oldest government buildings that still has its original function, a banner celebrated the “2026 NBA CHAMPIONS.”
That space above the columns has been to mark moments sad and joyous spanning the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries.
In 1865, when President Lincoln lay in state inside, thousands gathered in the plaza. “THE NATION MOURNS.”
Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.
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