Old City Hall was designed by Gridley J. F. Bryant & Arthur Gilman and was constructed between 1862 and 1865.
Honor Award, American Institute of Architects (1976)
Awarded for preservation by Boston society of architects (1973)
National Preservation Honor Award, National Trust for Historic Preservation (1990)
Designated a National Landmark (1970)
Architecture
Boston's Old City Hall was one of the first buildings in the French Second Empire Style to be built in the United States and is now one of the few that survive. The design originated in France during the Second Empire (the reign of Emperor Napoleon III from 1852 to 1870). In Paris, this style gained popularity with the building of the new Louvre. After the completion of Boston's City Hall (1865), the French Second Empire Style was used extensively elsewhere in Boston and for many public buildings in the United States, such as the Executive Office Building in Washington D.C. as well as other city halls in Providence, Baltimore and Philadelphia.
The style became so closely associated with the Grant Administration (1869-1877) that it was also called the "General Grant Style." The major characteristic of this style is the mansard roof, a double-pitched roof with a steep lower slope that has a boxy shape. Often the building will have a projecting center that is topped by a dome, and tall windows and doors that are flanked by pairs of columns.
Location
The location itself is significant in the history of the nation. The Boston Latin School (1635), Boston's first public school and the oldest educational institution in the country, stood here first. Some notable figures in history who attended this school include Cotton Mather, Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock, and Samuel Adams.
In 1810, the Suffolk County Courthouse, designed by renowned architect Charles Bulfinch, was erected here. Remodeled by Gridlet J. F. Bryant, it served as City Hall from 1841 until the governing body outgrew the space in 1862. At that time, it was demolished. The basement of the Bulfinch building was retained for use as the foundation of the existing structure and the granite blocks were reused in the new exterior walls of the rear (Court Square) and east side (City Hall Avenue).
Fun Facts about Old city hall
Each year, Old City Hall's courtyard hosts more than 500,000 visitor
Historical documents detail the laying of a 'metallic box containing an engraved plate, historical documents, and other appropriate articles' inside the southeast cornerstone in 1862. This time capsule is one of several located in prominent buildings in downtown Boston.
Preservationists believe our massive front doors were constructed from two different original pieces. The inner part, made from mahogany, is from the Federal Period - circa 1810 - and stood in the doorway of the courthouse-turned-city hall that once stood on this spot. The front of the doors are oak, and were added onto the original doors sometime in the last quarter of the 19th century. Unfortunately, the reasons for this peculiar construction have been lost to history.
The murals in the building entrances on School Street and Court Square illustrating the history of both the building and the site.
The marble plaque in the first floor lobby commemorating the laying of the cornerstone in 1862 by Mayor JM Wightman and the dedication of the building in 1865 by Mayor FW Lincoln, Jr.
Public Art at Old City Hall
Benjamin Franklin, 1856, Bronze, larger than Life
Franklin was born in Boston and attended school on this site as a boy before pursuing a distinguished career as an author, inventor, scientist, politician and statesman. Scenes of Franklin's accomplishments appear in bas-relief on the square pedestal of the statue. The statue (1856) was the first portrait statue to be erected in Boston. Franklin is depicted as he would actually appear, rather than draped in toga, cloak, or classical attire. The statue was designed by Richard Saltonstall Greenough, as are two of the bas-reliefs.
Josiah Quincy, 1879, bronze, larger than life
Quincy was the second Mayor of Boston and served six consecutive, one-year terms from 1823-1828. During his tenure he was reponsible for the development that expanded the produce and meat markets in Faneuil Hall into three new buildings known as the Quincy Markets. This statue (1879) was designed by Thomas Ball.
BOSTON: THE SHAPING OF A CITY, 1993 Designed by Joshua Winer
Built in 1865 in elaborate Second Empire style, Old City Hall served the city until the development of Government Center in 1968. In rehabilitating the structure, the new owners were required by city fire codes to gut the interior. The mural on the wall facing the entrance was painted in 1984 by Winer and his original partner, Knoepffler. Along with fool-the-eye architectural detail, the names of Boston’s mayors are inscribed in typestyles reflecting the eras in which they served. The rest of the vestibule has been decorated by Winer and Voronina, a Russian-born artist trained at Leningrad Academy of Art.
CITY CARPET, 1983. Ceramic, brass, and stained concrete, 25’ sq.
Designed by Lilli Ann Lillen Rosenberg
Shaped like a hopscotch grid, this mosaic marks the original site of the Boston Latin School, the first public school in the US. The school educated many influential politicians and writers, including Benjamin Franklin and Ralph Waldo Emerson.