Background
Joseph F. Mangin was born in 1758 in Dompaire, France. The son of Jean-Baptiste François Mangin, the king's surgeon, and Marie Anne Milot, both from Dompaire.
Joseph F. Mangin was born in 1758 in Dompaire, France. The son of Jean-Baptiste François Mangin, the king's surgeon, and Marie Anne Milot, both from Dompaire.
He studied Architecture in Paris, and Law at the University of Nancy, where he graduated in 1781.
In 1795 he was admitted and sworn a Freeman of the city, subsequently began engineering and architectural work associated with his brother Charles and prior to 1812 planned a number of buildings in New York.
Mr. Mangin is best remembered for his connection with the old City Hall in New York, although other important buildings are ascribed to him. In 1802 he and the late John McComb, Jr. entered the competition that had been advertised for the City Hall, and for their design, an adaptation of the French Renaissance style, received a cash premium of $350. Later the plans were ordered revised for a smaller and less elaborate structure, and these were subsequently approved. Mangin however had no further connection with the project, and McComb who supervised the erection of the building, was given most of the credit. Owing to lack of sufficient funds, construction was delayed over a period of years, and not finally completed until 1811.
Several earlier buildings in New York are generally believed to have been designed by Mangin, such as the State Prison, erected in 1797 in the block now bounded by Washington and Christopher Streets and the North River, and the Park Theatre, 1796-98. On the latter he was associated with his brother Charles, although the design is attributed to Marc Brunei, one of Mangin's countrymen who worked with him at different times. More note¬worthy was the St. Patricks Cathedral, built on Mott Street, between 1809 and 1812, one of the first Gothic churches in the city, and Mr. Mangin's last recorded work. Little was known of him after the completion of the Cathedral, and prior to 1817 he left New York, presumably to return to his native country.