Harlem Courthouse

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}

{{Use American English|date=July 2024}}

{{Infobox NRHP

| name = Harlem Courthouse

| nrhp_type =

| image = Harlem-courthouse-170e121.jpg

| image_size = 300px

| caption = (2009)

| location = 170 East 121st Street
Manhattan, New York City

| coordinates = {{coord|40|48|4.5|N|73|56|18.5|W|region:US-NY_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}

| district_map = {{Maplink|frame=yes|plain=yes|frame-align=center|frame-width=300|frame-height=300|zoom=14|type=point|marker=|title=Harlem Courthouse}}

| built = 1891-93{{cite aia5|page=553}}{{cite nycland|page=206}}

| architect = Thom & Wilson

| architecture = Romanesque Revival

| added = April 16, 1980

| refnum = 80002692{{NRISref|2009a}}

| designated_other2_name = New York City Landmark

| designated_other2_date = August 2, 1967

| designated_other2_abbr = NYCL

| designated_other2_link = New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission

| designated_other2_number = 0297

| designated_other2_color = #ffe978

}}

The Harlem Courthouse at 170 East 121st Street on the corner of Sylvan Place – a remnant of the former Boston Post Road{{cite fromatoz}}, p. 61 – in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, was built in 1891-93 and was designed by Thom & Wilson in the Romanesque Revival style. The brick, brownstone, bluestone, granite and terra cotta building features gables, archways, an octagonal corner tower and a two-faced clock. It was built for the Police and District Courts, but is now used by other city agencies.

In 1936, during the New Deal, Federal Art Project artist David Karfunkle painted a mural, "Exploitation of Labor and Hoarding of Wealth" on its third floor.{{Cite web|url=http://culturenow.org/entry&permalink=03413&seo=Exploitation-of-Labor-and-Hoarding-of-Wealth_David-Karfunkle|title=CultureNOW - Exploitation of Labor and Hoarding of Wealth: David Karfunkle}}{{cite web |url=http://www.harlemonestop.com/organization.php?id=687 |title=Harlem Court House |website=Harlem One Stop}}{{cite web |url=http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcas/html/resources/man_harlemcourthouse.shtml |title=Harlem Court House |accessdate=2011-12-29 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20111211231237/http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcas/html/resources/man_harlemcourthouse.shtml |archivedate=2011-12-11 }}

The city government used the building as a laboratory to measure air pollution. At the time of the 1966 New York City smog, it was the city's only station to measure the air.{{cite news |first=Murray |last=Schumach |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1966/11/27/archives/smog-swept-away-by-cool-air-mass-emergency-ended-3state-alert-is.html |title=Smog Swept Away By Cool Air Mass |newspaper=The New York Times |date=November 27, 1966}}

The building was designated a New York City landmark in 1967, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.