He held several positions and was appointed in 1652 as one of the nine men, elected by the people, to govern New Amsterdam[2] He owned 35 acres (14 ha) around where City Hall Park is now situated.

It stood in a field some distance from the growing port city to the south and was built as a "chapel-of-ease" for parishioners who did not live near the Mother Church.

On July 9, 1776, units of the Continental Army and citizens gathered in the commons to hear the Declaration of Independence read by George Washington, while over 150 British ships and tens of thousands of troops were in the harbor.

The Sons of Liberty led a crowd from there down Broadway to Bowling Green and tore down the gilt lead statue of George III of Great Britain there.

When he lost, Latrobe bitterly denounced the winners, “bricklayer” John McComb Jr. and French exile Joseph-François Mangin, and their “vile invention".

In fact, McComb and Mangin were each accomplished architects, and their design was superior to Latrobe's, but City Hall was their only collaboration, and it was brief.

The aqueduct drew water from the Croton Dam more than 40 miles (64 km) north of the city and was considered one of the great engineering feats of the 19th century.