Tammany Hall was the home to the political machine known as the Tammany Society from 1929 until they could no longer afford the building in 1943. Despite its storied political history, the Neo-Georgian building was only designated a New York City landmark in 2013.

A renovation proposed by BKSK Architects a year later in 2014 included a multi-story glass dome perched on the top of the existing landmarked building. This design was deemed too stark by the LPC, but a year later BKSK came back to the commission with a slightly pared-down version and it was unanimously approved. There will still be a large glass dome that rises two stories above the roofline of the existing building, but the profile is much lower from the street. If you look up the designs (which you should!), you’ll notice that the glass dome rather resembles a turtle shell, which is precisely what the architects were after. Inspired by the namesake of the original chief of the Tammany organization and leader of the Lenape people in the late 17th century, Chief Tamanend.