4. Lady Justice at New York City Hall, 260 Broadway
Lady Justice is a popular figure that tops municipal buildings in the Western world. This personification of justice is often depicted holding a scale to represent fairness and balance under the law; her occasional blindfold represents impartiality. Draped in a Greco-Roman toga, New York’s Lady Justice atop City Hall holds a scale in her left hand but wears no blindfold. A sword in her right hand symbolizes swift justice.
The present statue is the Federal-style building’s third Lady Justice. The first two Lady Justices, both made of wood, have been lost — one to a rooftop fire and the other to deterioration. The current statue was restored in the 1990s during the City Hall Restoration Project. From a distance, the statue appears to be made of stone, but it is actually made of lightweight sheet copper on a stainless steel armature. William H. Mullins mass-produced the sculpture in the late 1800s and sold it for $600.