Surrogate's Courthouse

1907

Architect: John R. Thomas, with figures by Philip Martiny and Henry Kirke Bush-Brown
Address: 31 Chambers Street, Manhattan
Sporting one of the most glorious facades (designed by a guy with without a doubt the most boring name in architectural history) of a building in all of America, the Surrogate's Courthouse, also known as the Hall of Records, also happens to have a stunning, 3-story Beaux Arts interior that's a favorite of film and TV location scouts. When I worked for NYU's Alumni Office as a grad student, I used to go look up wills and estates for them here. Every time I walked inside...it was magic.