Post (1837–1913), a prominent New York City architect of the period, the three-story building facing west was picturesque, stylized in a Renaissance decor, with pale yellow brick and brown terra-cotta trim contrast.

It was perhaps designed by Post, or possibly by the chief engineer of the Bronx, Louis Risse, who had mapped the concept of the Grand Boulevard and Concourse[8] in 1890.

In contrast to the building's architectural appeal, surroundings, and the efforts taken to construct it, civic leaders began to express misgivings with regard to its capacity and usage.

In response to this vast growth, amid the Great Depression, the City erected the Bronx County Courthouse (a.k.a.

On September 21, 1965, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission held a public hearing on the proposed designation of the Old Bronx Borough Hall.

Eight witnesses, including the Borough Historian and representatives of the Bronx County Historical Society, testified in favor of designation of the building.

The East Tremont Neighborhood Association wrote the Commission pleading that Old Borough Hall be razed and the site be used for a new indoor recreation center.

Community Planning Board 6 and three other local groups supported the view of the East Tremont Neighborhood Association.

With historical facts and testimony in hand the Landmarks Preservation Commission called the borough hall "a good example of public building through the nobility and scale of the architectural elements employed.

In December, Commissioner Newbold Morris again wrote the board, calling the building rundown, unsightly and of no architectural importance.

Continued efforts by the Bronx County Historical Society and others to renovate the hall for civic use were halted when the building was deemed structurally unsafe, and then demolished on January 12, 1969.

Despite demands from the East Tremont Neighborhood Association, Bronx Borough Hall was never replaced by a sports center nor was one built nearby.

It has seen different renovations, but investments have yet to rehabilitate the stairway that now leads to an empty top and to commemorate an iconic chapter in Bronx and New York's preservation history.