Civic Center, New York City

The Civic Center is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City, that encompasses New York City Hall, One Police Plaza, the courthouses in Foley Square, Tweed Courthouse, Surrogate's Courthouse (former Hall of Records), Municipal Building, Metropolitan Correctional Center, Jacob K. Javits Federal Building, African Burial Ground National Monument, many non-government buildings and the surrounding area.

It is bound on the west by Tribeca at Broadway, on the north by Chinatown at Worth Street or Bayard Street, on the east by the East River and the Brooklyn Bridge at South Street, and on the south by the Financial District at Ann Street. Government-related activities are predominant in the Civic Center. The area is roughly 10 blocks long and 5 blocks wide.

In the 17th century, this area was outside the citadel, the walled city. In the 18th century it was the Common or the Fields (now City Hall Park) and farmlands. Five Liberty Poles were erected as monuments of freedom, between 1766 and 1770, in the Fields, and several public speeches about liberty and independence were given, including by George Washington.

The City Hall moved to the present building in 1812, then many publishing companies moved to the area. The old Post Office was completed on the southern part of City Hall Park in 1880 and demolished in 1939.