The Mississauga Civic Centre is the

seat of local government The seat of government is (as defined by ''Brewer's Politics'') "the building, complex of buildings or the city from which a government exercises its authority". In most countries, the nation’s capital is also seat of its government, thus that ...

Mississauga Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popul ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. The 37,280 square metre complex is a prominent example of

postmodern architecture Postmodern architecture is a style or movement which emerged in the 1960s as a reaction against the austerity, formality, and lack of variety of modern architecture, particularly in the international style advocated by Philip Johnson and Henry- ...

in Canada, finished in 1987 by Jones and Kirkland. It stands at 92 metres or 302 feet. The design was influenced by farmsteads which once occupied much of Mississauga as well as historical features of city centres. The building, for instance, includes a prominent clock tower. It was chosen as the winner of a design competition that included 246 submissions. Mississauga Civic Centre is located in the

City Centre A city centre is the commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely equivalent terms exist in other languages, such as "" in Fren ...

near

Square One Shopping Centre Square One Shopping Centre, or simply Square One, is a shopping mall located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest shopping centre in Ontario and the second largest shopping centre in Canada, after the West Edmonton Mall. It ...

and is home to the

Mississauga City Council Mississauga City Council is the governing body of the city of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. The council consists of the mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a ...

. The civic center building is considered one of the most iconic and recognizable buildings and cultural icons of Mississauga city.

History

Mississauga Civic Centre is the second home for City Hall and third home of local government. Cooksville Town Hall was built at Lot 16, Concession 1 SDS around 1870 and was built as single storey brick school house. It later housed Cooksville Public School from 1919 to 1921. In 1953 Township of Toronto Municipal Building at 100 Dundas Street West (Coronation Square Building) was built next to the old town hall. The old town hall structure became the east wing of the Toronto Township Municipal Building. It was designed by architect

Gordon Adamson Gordon Sinclair Adamson (19 May 1904 - 8 January 1986) was a Canadian architect. Practising from 1928 to 1971 and working mainly in Toronto and Etobicoke, he operated his own practice from 1934 until his retirement. Adamson's major contribution ...

, who built International style buildings. After the 1969 fire that gut the east wing, the Township offices were relocated once the 1 City Centre Drive was made available from developers of Square One. The 1950s municipal building became home to the Dufferin-Peel Catholic School Board and Sheridan College. Abandoned, the structure was demolished in 1970. The Township of Mississauga moved to 1 City Centre Drive near Burnhamthorpe and Hurontario in 1971. It along with Square One was located on the old Robert Norman Carr farm. Built as a 5 floor office building, it was converted as a civic centre in 1971. In 1974 it became City Hall and remained so until 1984. Converted to offices by the city, it was demolished in 1988 to give way to the current glass office tower at the site. The new design by Jones and Kirkland was chosen in September 1982 an

architectural design competition An architectural design competition is a type of design competition in which an organization that intends on constructing a new building invites architects to submit design proposals. The winning design is usually chosen by an independent panel ...

which drew 246 entries from 7 Canadian provinces. Architect James Stirling was on the panel of judges.

Opening of New Mississauga City Hall

The Duke and

Duchess of York Duchess of York is the principal Courtesy titles in the United Kingdom, courtesy title held by the wife of the duke of York. Three of the eleven dukes of York either did not marry or had already assumed the throne prior to marriage, whilst two of ...

were part of the opening ceremonies for the new civic centre in July 1987. The Duke's impression of City Hall was "It's quite remarkable". However, the media had fun with his quote about the building due to local criticism of the structure and the fact that the media found his response to be less than sincere. Mississauga resident

Don Cherry Donald Stewart Cherry (born February 5, 1934) is a Canadian former ice hockey player, coach, and television commentator. Cherry played one game in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Boston Bruins, and later coached the team for five se ...

who is most notable for being on

Hockey Night In Canada CBC Television has aired National Hockey League (NHL) broadcasts under the ''Hockey Night in Canada'' (often abbreviated ''Hockey Night'' or ''HNiC'') brand that is primarily associated with its Saturday night NHL broadcasts throughout its hi ...

and a Canadian icon added fuel to the fire when he stated that the new City Hall reminded him of his home town

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between Toro ...

because it looked more like a penitentiary than a City Hall. Mississauga also faced criticism over the fact that they decided to use bricks from a U.S. company for construction instead of using a long time big brick company close by (Brampton Brick LTD) in

Brampton Brampton ( or ) is a city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Brampton is a city in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a List of municipalities in Ontario#Lower-tier municipalities, lower-tier municipalit ...

, which borders

. The new hall is also a popular spot for bridal photo shoots. A scaled version of the building can be found in Mississauga Park in

Kariya, Aichi is a city in central Aichi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 153,162 in 66,751 households, and a population density of 3,040 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Kariya is situated in central A ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Architecture

The complex is home to: *

chambers located in the cylindrical structure * The

Art Gallery of Mississauga The Art Gallery of Mississauga (AGM) is a public, not-for-profit art gallery in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is located at the Mississauga Civic Centre right on Celebration Square across from Square One Mall. The Gallery is open six days per ...

(ground floor) * Civic Wedding chapel (2nd floor)- Stained Glass Window designed and built by Gundar Robez Studio * C Cafe restaurant (ground floor) * Great Hall – four storey open space with marble walls and glass pyramid atrium * Mayor and Council offices * departmental staff offices * fitness centre (4th floor) * Great Stairs – connects the Great Hall to the main wing Small openings allow visitors to view out into the Great Hall. A pyramid shaped atrium brings natural light into the Great Hall. By making references to local farm architecture around the suburban area of Mississauga as well as a clocktower—a feature associated with traditional city centres—it connects with its local context and historical architectural ideas, yet is decidedly untraditional in design. A 9,000-square-metre courtyard, named Celebration Square, is a newly renovated multi-media public space. It also features a wading pool/ice rink located on the south side of the building; to the west is the floral garden, often used for wedding pictures. South of the complex is the five-storey

Mississauga Central Library Mississauga Library is the public library system of Mississauga, Ontario. The system has 18 branches, consisting of the Mississauga Central Library and 17 smaller neighbourhood libraries. Services The Library offers many services and programs su ...

, one of the largest in the

Greater Toronto Area The Greater Toronto Area, commonly referred to as the GTA, includes the City of Toronto and the regional municipalities of Durham, Halton, Peel, and York. In total, the region contains 25 urban, suburban, and rural municipalities. The Greater T ...

References

The Competition held for the design

Model of Cityhall by Jonathan L. Martins

External links

Image of Mississauga City Hall

Cooksville Town Hall

Toronto Township Municipal Offices
{{coord, 43.58840, N, 79.64445, W, display=title Buildings and structures in Mississauga City and town halls in Ontario Clock towers in Canada Postmodern architecture in Canada Tourist attractions in Mississauga Government buildings completed in 1987

History

Opening of New Mississauga City Hall

Architecture

See also

References

External links