McComb, John

McComb, John, 1763–1853, American architect, b. New York City. He was chiefly known for the New York City Hall (1803–12), one of the finest American buildings of the postcolonial period, designed with the collaboration of Joseph Mangin, a French architect; its elegant composition was inspired by the monumental work of the mid-18th cent. in France. His other New York works include St. John's Church, Varick St. (now demolished); the facade of the old government house (built in 1790, demolished in 1815); and the fort at the Battery (begun c.1807). McComb also designed churches and public and private buildings in other places, including Alexander Hall (1815) at Princeton Theological Seminary, Queen's Building (1808–9) at Rutgers College, New Brunswick, N.J., and the Cape Henry lighthouse.