Inlocal government, acity hall,town hall,civic centre (in theUK orAustralia),guildhall, ormunicipal hall (in thePhilippines) is the chiefadministrative building of a city, town, or othermunicipality.[2] It usually houses thecity ortown council and at least some other arms of the local government. It also often functions as the office of themayor (or other executive), if the relevant municipality has such an officer. In large cities, the local government is often administratively expansive, and the city hall may bear more resemblance to a municipalcapitol building.
By convention, until the middle of the 19th century, a single large, open chamber (or "hall") formed an integral part of the building housing the council and other organs of government that supported it. The hall may be used for council meetings and other significant events. This large chamber, known as the "town hall" (and its later variant, "city hall"), became synonymous with the entire building, and,synecdochically, with the municipal government headquartered there. The terms "council chambers", "municipal building", or variants may be used locally in preference to "town hall" if no such large hall is present within the building.
The local government may endeavor to use the building to promote and enhance thequality of life of the community. In many cases, "town halls" serve not only as buildings for government functions, but also have facilities for various civic and cultural activities. These may include art shows, stage performances, exhibits, and festivals. Modern town halls or "civic centres" are often designed with a great variety and flexibility of purpose in mind.
As symbols of local government, city and town halls have distinctive architecture, and the buildings may have great historical significance – for example, theGuildhall in London. City hall buildings may also serve ascultural icons that symbolize their cities. The premises often serve citizens in accessing government functions as well as providing vital symbolic roles for their communities.[3]
InCommonwealth countries, the term "town hall" may be used even in a city.[5] This is often the case in theUnited Kingdom (examples beingManchester Town Hall andLiverpool Town Hall),Australia (Sydney Town Hall),New Zealand, and elsewhere.
People in some regions use the term "city hall" to designate the council offices of amunicipality ofcity status. This is the case inNorth America, where a distinction is made between city halls and town halls. The term is also sometimes (but more rarely) used as a name in Commonwealth countries: for example, for the City Halls ofBrisbane in Australia, and ofCardiff,Norwich andBristol in the UK.City Hall inDublin, Ireland, is another example.City Hall in London, opened in 2002, is an exceptional case, being the seat not of a conventional municipal authority, but of a regional strategic authority.
TheOxford English Dictionary sums up the generic terms:
County Council administrations in parts ofEngland and Wales generally operate from a base in a building called, by analogy, a "county hall" or "shire hall". Conversely, cities that have subdivisions with their councils may haveborough halls.Scottish local government in larger cities operates from the "City Chambers".[8]
Other names are occasionally used. The administrative headquarters of theCity of London retains its Anglo-Saxon name, theGuildhall, signifying a place where taxes were paid. In a few English cities (includingBirmingham,Coventry andNottingham) the preferred term is "Council House": this was also true inBristol until 2012, when the building was renamed "City Hall". In Birmingham, there is a distinction between the Council House and theTown Hall, a concert and meeting venue that pre-dates it. InSheffield, the distinction is between theTown Hall, the seat of local government, and theCity Hall, a concert and ballroom venue. InLeeds, theTown Hall, built in the 1850s as a seat of local government, now functions primarily as a concert, conference, and wedding venue, many of its municipal functions having moved in 1933 to the newCivic Hall.
The development of the town hall as a setting for local governance meetings and decisions is historically related to the early cities in medieval Europe.[10] The objective was to have engagement with the citizens in a public space by a representative civic authority.[10] The oldest town hall in the world isPalazzo Senatorio inRome, Italy, which is established in AD 1144.[1] The town hall concept of democracy was developed prolifically in northern Italy where several merchant cities entered into the allegiance of theLombard League.[11]
In the later Middle Ages orearly modern period, many Europeanmarket towns erected communalmarket halls, comprising a covered space to function as amarketplace at street level, and one or more rooms used for public or civic purposes above it. These buildings were frequently the precursors of dedicated town halls. The modern concept of the town hall developed with the rise ofmedieval communes. Much as a lord was based in his hall, the newcouncils which formed to rule the cities required a headquarters. This building needed adebating chamber for council meetings, office space for city employees, an archive room for official documents, and some degree of fortification lest the city be attacked.
ThePalazzo Senatorio has been the headquarters of themunicipal government of Rome since 1144, making it the oldest city hall in the world.[1] TheCologne City Hall of 1135 is another early example. ThePalazzo Pubblico of theRepublic of Siena and thePalazzo Vecchio of theRepublic of Florence, both late-medieval town halls, date from 1297 and 1299 respectively. In each case, the large, fortified building comprises a large meeting hall and numerous administrative chambers. Both buildings are topped by tall towers, have ancient clocks against which townsfolk measured time, and have space for localarchives of official documents. These features became standard for town halls across Europe. The 15th-centuryBrussels Town Hall, with its 96-meter (315 ft) tower, is one of the grandest examples of the medieval era, serving as a model for 19th-century town halls such as theRathaus, Vienna. One of the largest town halls in the world in terms of space is theNew Town Hall inLeipzig.
Over centuries, the idea of civic representation along with notions of urbanism and public space evolved.[10] Even the building form grew in size and the town hall concept expanded beyond Europe to become an established institution across the world.[10]
As the functions of government generally andmunicipal government in particular expanded in the 19th and 20th centuries, the role of town and city halls became broader. Many cities established a reading room in their city hall, which later grew into apublic library, typically in its own building. The central room in a town hall (the "hall" proper) began to be used for a variety of other functions; some cities installed a largepipe organ to facilitate public entertainment.
In the 20th century, the town hall served the public as place forvoting,examinations,vaccinations,disaster relief, and disseminating information throughnoticeboards, as well as for the more usual civil work, festivities, and entertainments.Local councils have increasingly moved administrative functions into modernoffice buildings. New premises are designed and constructed to separately house local government, the functions of administrative office, and the civic town hall.
Particularly in North America, "city hall" can be used as ametonym to meanmunicipal government, or government in general, as in the saying "You can't fight city hall".[2] "Town hall" tends to have less formal connotations (cf.town meeting).
1: the chief administrative building of a city
2 a: a municipal government
b: city officialdom or bureaucracy
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