The Old City Hall of
Portland, Maine, was located in what was then known as Market Square or Haymarket Square (
Monument Square today) between 1833 and 1888, when it was demolished. In 1862, it was replaced by an earlier version of the
City Hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...
located today on
Congress Street, a short distance northeast of the original location.
History
The Town of
Portland
Portland most commonly refers to:
* Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States
* Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...
built its
Market House in Market (or Haymarket) Square 1825. The first floor in the building's early years housed stalls used by farmers to sell agricultural products. Also known as Military Hall, the building's simple gable appearance was modified in 1833, to plans made the previous year by
Charles Quincy Clapp. Clapp updated the building to the
Greek Revival style by removing the
cupola from the roof and adding a portico to the front. The cupola was reinstalled on the Universalist school house (now Alumni Hall on the
University of New England University of New England may refer to:
* University of New England (Australia), in New South Wales, with about 18,000 students
* University of New England (United States), in Biddeford, Maine, with about 3,000 students
See also
*New England Colle ...
campus) in Portland's Deering neighborhood.
The new building was the site of the 1855
Portland Rum Riot, which involved mayor
Neal Dow and led to one death. It was replaced by a
new city hall in 1862 on
Congress Street at the head of
Exchange Street. The old city hall was demolished in 1888 and replaced by the
Soldiers and Sailors Monument, at which time Market Square was renamed
Monument Square.
Between 1866 and 1868, the old city hall building was brought into use as such again, after the first iteration of the Congress Street building burned in the
fire of 1866.
The
United States Hotel, built in 1803, stood behind both iterations of the building.
Gallery
File:Portland City Hall (1830).png, A sketch by Charles Quincy Goodhue (1902) of Market House (), which was modified to become the first city hall
File:Alumni Hall cupola.jpg, The cupola from Market House, pictured in 2024 on Alumni Hall on the University of New England's Portland campus
File:Old Portland City Hall.jpg, Old City Hall, pictured in 1886, two years before its demolition
References
Sources
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City halls in Maine
Government buildings in Portland, Maine
Government buildings completed in 1825
Demolished buildings and structures in Portland, Maine
Government of Portland, Maine
1880s disestablishments in Maine
1825 establishments in Maine
19th century in Portland, Maine