Old City Hall, known formerly as City Hall, is the former city hall of

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

that was designed by Elijah E. Myers. It served as City Hall from its completion in 1894 through the 1970s. The building occupies its own city block in downtown Richmond, bounded by 10th and 11th Streets to the west and east, and Capitol Street and East Broad Street to the south. The building is executed in a meticulous

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

style, and was designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

for its architecture.

Description

While the overall composition of the building is generally symmetrical, the clock tower on the left side of the principal facade gives an impression of asymmetry. The four main levels are executed in gray granite. The interior centers around a large skylit atrium surrounded by four levels of cloister-like arcades, linked by a grand staircase. The building housed city offices and courts. Granite was locally obtained from quarries along the

James River The James River is a river in Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows from the confluence of the Cowpasture and Jackson Rivers in Botetourt County U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowli ...

near Petersburg, and was shaped by workers under the direction of subcontractor James Netherwood. Iron work was by Asa Snyder.

History

The Old City Hall occupies a site that previously accommodated three notable buildings, all demolished for the new structure. The first City Hall, designed by Robert Mills and

Maximilian Godefroy J. Maximilian M. Godefroy (1765 – 7 April 1848) was a French-American architect. Godefroy was born in France and educated as a geographical/civil engineer. During the French Revolution he fought briefly on the Royalist side. Later, as an ant ...

and completed in 1818 was demolished because it was considered structurally deficient. Also demolished were the

Edmund Randolph Edmund Jennings Randolph (August 10, 1753 September 12, 1813) was a Founding Father of the United States, attorney, and the seventh Governor of Virginia. As a delegate from Virginia, he attended the Constitutional Convention and helped to cre ...

House, a ''circa'' 1800 octagonal-ended house, and the 1853 First Presbyterian Church, which was moved off the site in 1873. A design competition was held in 1883, with a design by Elijah E. Myers of

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

selected in 1884. The project was bid twice, and both times the low bids were well above the budget. A new competition was held, and a design by Wait & Cutter of

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

was selected. Working drawings were prepared in 1886. Despite this, later that year the city council reversed its former decision and moved forward with the Myers design. Ground was broken for the new structure in 1886, with costs rising from a projected $300,000 to $1,318,349.19. Myers was a well-respected architect who had designed the state capitols of

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

and

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, but it was later found that Myers had paid a bribe of $1,500 to ensure that his design would be built.Paul Goeldner, "The Designing Architect: Elijah E. Myers," ''Southwestern Historical Quarterly'' 92, no. 2 (October 1988): 271-288. Cost overruns were attributed to the massive and ornamented nature of the design. From 1900/05 to 1913, City Hall was the tallest building in both

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

until being surpassed by the First National Bank Building. By 1915, with the popularity of the

Beaux-Arts style Beaux-Arts architecture ( , ) was the academic architectural style taught at the in Paris, particularly from the 1830s to the end of the 19th century. It drew upon the principles of French neoclassicism, but also incorporated Renaissance and B ...

, proposals were made to demolish City Hall to create a mall aligned with the northern side of the

Virginia State Capitol The Virginia State Capitol is the seat of state government of the Commonwealth of Virginia, located in Richmond, the state capital. It houses the oldest elected legislative body in North America, the Virginia General Assembly, first established a ...

. Renewed demolition threats surfaced in the 1970s, but the building was restored in the early 1980s and is used for offices. The Old City Hall was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

on October 1, 1969 and was designated a U.S.

in 1971.

References

External links

Old City Hall
at National Park Service driving itinerary
Richmond City Hall, 1001 East Broad Street, Richmond, Independent City, VA
at the

Historic American Buildings Survey The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

(HABS) {{authority control Historic American Buildings Survey in Virginia City and town halls on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Government buildings completed in 1894 National Historic Landmarks in Virginia Former seats of local government Clock towers in Virginia Buildings and structures in Richmond, Virginia Gothic Revival architecture in Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Richmond, Virginia

Description

History

See also

References

External links