The Ludlow Street Jail was New York City's Federal prison, located on Ludlow Street and Broome Street in Manhattan. Some prisoners, such as soldiers, were held there temporarily awaiting extradition t
Interior and exterior of Ludlow Street Jail (c. 1862)
Scenes inside Ludlow Street Jail
Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was an American political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789, as the
Ludlow Street Jail
…spent a month at the jail, including election night, accused of publishing obscene materials. William "Boss" Tweed was a local politician and head of Tammany Hall, the name given to the Democratic Party political machine that played a major role in New York City politics from the 1790s to the 1860s. After being…
Vice president Aaron Burr was the first to employ the Tammany Society as a vehicle for political gain.
Fernando Wood, who served as mayor between 1855 and 1861, was the first to rise through the ranks of the political machine to that office.
During the reign of Boss Tweed, editorial cartoonist Thomas Nast denounced Tammany as a ferocious tiger mauling the country, personified as Columbia. The tiger became a lasting symbol of Tammany Hall.
During the 1880s and 1890s, Richard Croker reestablished Tammany as the indisputable political authority in the city and a source of immense political graft and patronage.