Walk west along Grand Street from Little Italy and a gilded dome suddenly appears over the rooftops, looking more like a European city hall than anything built for police work. That is the Police Building at 240 Centre Street, headquarters of the New York City Police Department from 1909 to 1973. Its architects wanted it to impress every officer and every prisoner who walked through the door, and more than a century later it still stops people in their tracks.
TL;DR
- The Police Building at 240 Centre Street served as NYPD headquarters from 1909 until 1973.
- It was designed by the firm of Hoppin and Koen and built between 1905 and 1909 in the Edwardian Baroque and Beaux-Arts style.
- It fills a wedge-shaped block bounded by Centre, Broome and Grand Streets and Centre Market Place, on the site of the old Centre Market.
- The NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission designated it a landmark in 1978.
- It was converted to luxury cooperative apartments in 1988 and is not open to the public.
- It sits a few blocks west of the Little Italy stops on the Nice Guy Tours Chinatown and Little Italy Food Tour.
Why New York Built a New Police Headquarters
Before 1909, the NYPD worked out of a headquarters at 300 Mulberry Street, in use since 1862. By 1900 the department had grown to roughly four times its earlier size, and the old building could not keep up. The city owned an available site nearby: the wedge-shaped block of the old Centre Market, which had stood there since 1817 (Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission, Designation Report LP-0999, 1978).
One common mix-up is worth clearing up. Theodore Roosevelt served as president of the Board of Police Commissioners from 1895 to 1897, but he worked at the old 300 Mulberry Street headquarters. He left the post years before the cornerstone was laid at 240 Centre Street.
Designing a Police Station That Did Not Look Like One
The architectural firm of Hoppin and Koen, founded by Francis L. V. Hoppin and Terence A. Koen, produced the drawings in 1903. Franklin B. Huntington joined the firm during construction and supervised the final stages. Mayor George B. McClellan laid the cornerstone on May 6, 1905, and the building opened in 1909 (Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission, LP-0999).
Hoppin said the goal was a building that did not resemble a police station at all. He modeled its dignity on City Hall, which he called “the handsomest building on Manhattan Island” (Source: The New York Times, January 27, 1907, as quoted by the Landmarks Preservation Commission). The Landmarks Preservation Commission calls the result one of New York City’s most important examples of the Edwardian Baroque style and of Beaux-Arts design.
Architectural highlights
- The central dome, set with clocks in round windows and visible from blocks away.
- A pedimented portico with Corinthian columns and the seal of New York City.
- An allegorical figure of Manhattan above the main gable.
- Gilded domes on the end pavilions.
- Granite and limestone construction across five stories.
The Police Building at a Glance
| Detail | Fact | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Address | 240 Centre Street, between Grand and Broome Streets | NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission |
| Architects | Hoppin and Koen, with Franklin B. Huntington supervising completion | LPC Designation Report LP-0999 |
| Cornerstone laid | May 6, 1905 | LPC Designation Report LP-0999 |
| Opened as NYPD headquarters | 1909 | LPC Designation Report LP-0999 |
| Style | Edwardian Baroque and Beaux-Arts | LPC Designation Report LP-0999 |
| NYPD moved out | 1973, to One Police Plaza | Contemporary reporting |
| NYC Landmark designation | September 26, 1978 | LPC Designation Report LP-0999 |
| National Register of Historic Places | 1980 | National Park Service |
| Converted to co-op apartments | Completed 1988 | Public real estate records |
Centre Market Place and the Gun Shops
The narrow street behind the building, Centre Market Place, developed its own identity once police headquarters moved in. Gun dealers set up shop on the block to serve officers, and the best known, John Jovino Gun Shop, was founded in 1911 and operated nearby for more than a century before closing in 2020 (Source: Forgotten New York, 2014). The shops were a small reminder that this corner of Little Italy was, for decades, the center of policing in New York City.
From Headquarters to Luxury Co-op
The NYPD moved to its current headquarters, One Police Plaza near City Hall, in 1973. The Police Building sat empty for more than a decade. The city sold it in 1984, and developers converted it into luxury cooperative apartments, completed in 1988. It has been a private residential building ever since, and it cannot be toured inside. The Landmarks Preservation Commission had already designated the exterior a New York City landmark in 1978, which is why the dome, portico and sculpture survive intact.
The Police Building and Little Italy
The Landmarks Preservation Commission describes the building as the architectural focus of Little Italy. Its dome is visible from several points in the neighborhood, and its southern edge fronts Grand Street, the same street where two of Little Italy’s oldest food businesses still operate: Di Palo’s Fine Foods at Grand and Mott Streets and Piemonte Ravioli at 190 Grand Street. Piemonte occupies the ground floor of the 190 Grand Street House, an 1833 Federal-style building that the city individually landmarked in 2010.
Both are stops on the Chinatown and Little Italy Food Tour from Nice Guy Tours, a walking food tour company in New York City. From the tour’s Grand Street stops, the Police Building is a short walk west, making it an easy addition before or after the tour.
A few blocks east on Mulberry Street is the corner where Joe Gallo was killed in 1972.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the old police headquarters in Little Italy now?
It is a private luxury cooperative apartment building known as the Police Building. The conversion was completed in 1988.
When did the NYPD leave 240 Centre Street?
The NYPD moved out in 1973, when it relocated to One Police Plaza near City Hall.
Who designed the old NYPD headquarters?
The architectural firm of Hoppin and Koen designed the building, with Franklin B. Huntington supervising the final stages of construction.
Can you go inside the Police Building?
No. It is a private residence. Visitors can view the exterior, dome and sculpture from Centre, Grand and Broome Streets.
Did Theodore Roosevelt work at 240 Centre Street?
No. Roosevelt served as police commissioner from 1895 to 1897 at the earlier headquarters on Mulberry Street, years before 240 Centre Street opened.
Summary
- The Police Building at 240 Centre Street was NYPD headquarters from 1909 to 1973.
- Hoppin and Koen designed it to look like a civic monument, not a police station.
- It became a New York City landmark in 1978 and a luxury co-op in 1988.
- Theodore Roosevelt never worked in this building.
- It is a short walk west of the Little Italy stops on Grand Street.
See Little Italy’s landmarks and taste its oldest counters in one afternoon. Book the Nice Guy Tours Chinatown and Little Italy Food Tour.