I can't really believe the skepticism, to be honest. It's a fact that it's the tallest masonry building in the world. I'm not sure about largest - I guess that would be measured in square footage? But even then, I still would have a hard time believing that it's not in the top 5. This thing took 30 years to build I mean come on now. Again, yet another source: http://weburbanist.com/2008/01/19/th...ing-city-hall/. It's 548 feet tall.

http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/573367
http://www.citymayors.com/cityhalls/...-cityhall.html
http://www.danlepore.com/

The fact is cited in many books as well.

Well its not taller than The Daley Center in Chicago, which is 648', so its not the tallest municipal building.

Also, Tokyo city hall is probably the tallest in the world at a whopping 797'.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ember_2003.jpg wikipedia.com

OK, I am officially a fan of Philly's City Hall. LOVIN' it.

Here are some others that I think are worth showcasing:

Savannah:

http://www.georgia.org/NR/rdonlyres/...ty_hall_lg.jpg

http://www.terragalleria.com/images/...usga38384.jpeg

Old Richmond City Hall:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/84/20...5131a203b6.jpg

http://cache.virtualtourist.com/1399023.jpg

Tampa City Hall:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/190/4...3821729dc3.jpg

Louisville City Hall:

http://pics4.city-data.com/cpicv/vfiles2256.jpg

http://www.louisvilleky.gov/NR/rdonl...0/cityhall.jpg

Philadelphia City Hall is the tallest occupiable masonry building in the world, Washington Monument be damned. It does have a steel support structure under the crown to support the weight of the 37-ton William Penn statue but there are no steel support members for the building itself. At over 631,000 square feet, it counts among the largest buildings in Philadelphia but it isn't the largest municipal building in the country anymore (for a short period it was the world's tallest building). That's another of those 'old' Philadelphia facts that's rarely corrected - it was only a couple of years ago we all learned a couple of skyscrapers weren't actually as tall as everyone thought they were.

The building is a marvel, inside and out and houses the city's only public observation deck, surprisingly. The top of the statue's hat (547 feet, 11 inches) was the city's unofficial height limit for decades though only one building constructed prior to the 80's dared to rise higher than 491 feet.

Man, philly's hall takes ALOT of the cake :D

While I like Milwaukee's City Hall, I think Salt Lake City's is more attractive and monumental. This I believe is due in part to it's plot location, backdrop and symmetry. As far as Richardsonian styles go, it is by far one of the most beautiful buildings on the continent, IMO.

http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/...uide-ga12b.jpg
salt lake city guide

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2223/...38b1f2.jpg?v=0
bridgepix

http://content.lib.utah.edu/cgi-bin/...eng&CISOPTR=45
shipler photography collection, taken 1902

.

There are a few seperate county buildings that hold all those particular offices.
Old County Hall...
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i2...10/1563426.jpg
another...
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i2...10/1546058.jpg

The following website has more info on city hall, along with pictures of both the outside and inside of the building. Check it out...

http://www.buffaloah.com/a/niagSq/65/city.html

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i228/telesto10/25.jpg

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i228/telesto10/2.jpg

^^^
Very beautiful county building indeed... Though I'd like to implode that annex behind it!!
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i2...10/1546130.jpg

I would agree with you, not a fan of the building that sits behind it.
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i2...10/1546058.jpg


Back on topic, I do like the Salt Lake building alot.

by night or day, toronto's city hall is the best example from its era.
more than 40 years after building, it's still a head turner.


http://static.flickr.com/38/115458471_761ea761bd.jpg


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...l_at_night.jpg

^^^

whoah. sorry for the gigantic nighttime shot.

Sorry dude, normally I wouldnt comment in a negative fashion, but this has nothing going for it....

St. Louis City Hall is modeled after the famous Hotel de Ville in Paris:

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_gpkXyrGq7Eo/R0...E/DSCN3476.JPG
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_gpkXyrGq7Eo/R0...E/DSCN3476.JPG

Dallas' old city hall, a neoclassical beaux-arts gem. The building is currently unoccupied. This is a shot of the building from a park that is currently being built / installed. Across from that park is the Mercantile Tower complex... aka hundreds of new condo units.

http://lh6.ggpht.com/dallassights/R5...0/IMGP5550.JPG

And Dallas' new city hall, a daring structure built by IM Pei. It sits on a large '70's style plaza on the south end of downtown. I don't care what you all say, I like it. It has juevos. When I was a wee lad, I thought the large round columns were elevators, and criminals were sent down the elevators to the jail below. No, there is no jail in the basement.

http://www.bluffton.edu/~Sullivanm/t...gledistant.jpg

The Dallas Public Library sits to the north of the plaza and leans away from City Hall...

http://imagesofmorocco.com/images/da...entra_g7hd.jpg

Dallas City Hall with Henry Moore sculpture. The large window is the mayor's office.

http://www.galinsky.com/buildings/da...scityhall1.jpg

A famous artist's interpretation of said building...

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...yHallBig-1.gif

philadelphia's city hall is probably the ugliest piece of beaux arts crap ever built. the word graceless fails to summarize its architectural awkwardness.

Metropolitan Nashville-Davidson County City Hall
 

And yet it has captivated and inspired millions of people who see it every day and has entwined itself so well into the culture and spirit of Philadelphia.


What a failure.

This from the man who says that Boston's nightmarish piece of anti-urban streetscape-destroying Brutalist insanity is beautiful.

I know you've got your dogma to follow, but man, I really doubt you'll find many people to even begin to agree with your statement about the Philly city hall. It's a gorgeous bit of classic civic monument. I'm guessing you wish they'd tear it down to build an oddly-shaped concrete box but I think most of us are glad that you're in the minority on that one.

And while I'm sure you are a nice guy :tup:
Please don't ever come within 1000 miles of where I live and design a building...EVER.:haha:

Adrian is absolutely insane. Philly's city hall is gorgeous!

Speaking of nice city halls, how about Denver's City and County Building? Sorry for no photo, but I'm sure someone's got a nice one! :)

Aaron (Glowrock)

"shock value"

Denver
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0II/DEN214.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0II/DEN213.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...0II/DEN368.jpg

^^Outstanding, I love the curve...

It looks pretty good considering it was blown up by a neutron bomb in 2002

Los Angeles!

I'm biased, it's not my favorite, but It surely is up there! :yes: Completed in 1928, it rises 32 floors, and was LA's tallest from 1928 to 1964. It still stands as the base isolated structure in the world. Today it is an LA icon and the symbol of the LAPD badges.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...tyHall1931.JPG
(wikipedia)

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/35/10...9a7eccf4_b.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/the_javabean/105103767

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3148/...2237ab5a_o.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/32912172@N00/2745339794/

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3158/...75937745_b.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/12549675@N05/2413925452/

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2065/...aa2f6648_b.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/atwatervillage/2527136694/

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3029/...da7cd92d_b.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7294653@N07/2556988047/

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3050/...29ea1783_o.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7294653@N07/2552914858/

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3065/...baa3a0b3_b.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7294653@N07/2552261003/

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3022/...94ecbe1e_b.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7294653@N07/2553077100/

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3089/...6f47d08f_b.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7294653...7605478158233/

I'm surprised no one has yet hit onthe Pasadena, California City Hall. Don't have a pic handy; hope someone does.

Me too, that and Beverly Hills.

Thank freaking god someone has the balls to say it, but I too, hate the thing. I can't believe that Philly held its skyline down for decades because of that tower.

Taste here seems to be damn conservative. The more columns and crap, the better. I will take LA or Austin's city halls over most of the others posted here any day. Denver is downright dreadful and a banal copy of psuedo-government architecture of 100 years ago: "lets just grab elements from the US Capitol and White House and make a government building"

At least Dallas and Boston tried to use a brain cell or two and do something original, as much as I hate wide open plazas.

Yup. Taste here is on the safe side. I really like LA's and Phoenix's halls. What, no love for the Big 'D' hall???? I love it. Austin's is interesting.

Again, AdrianXsands, when tearing into a piece of architecture, people will respect your opinion more, if you ELABORATE. Is Philly massed wrong, is the choice of materials, is the lay out????

More of chicago city hall
http://static.zooomr.com/images/3743...5f_o.jpg?r=360
http://de.zooomr.com/photos/openseas/3743403/
Inside the city hall
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1261/...702623.jpg?v=0
http://flickr.com/photos/9611697@N07/1198570066/
The green roof of the city hall
http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/green-rooftop-1.jpg
http://science.howstuffworks.com/green-rooftop.htm
both city halls
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_VjmCkQdNuBI/Rp...U/CIMG2771.JPG
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo...QG8QRjlfXFe4OA

San Antonio's city hall used to be cool.

Before:

http://www.littlecolonel.com/Places/...tyHall1908.jpg
http://www.littlecolonel.com/Places/...tyHall1908.jpg

After:

http://www.constableri.com/City%20Hall.jpg
http://www.constableri.com/City%20Hall.jpg

Yuck.

Adding a fourth floor was such a short sighted move. The city has since moved into several adjacent buildings. The City Council chambers now reside in the former frost bank building:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3240/...95b2a1.jpg?v=0
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3240/...95b2a1.jpg?v=0

It's a neat building on it's own, but where it really wins points is in the contrast of the sacred/secular with San Fernando Cathedral(to the left). I can't find a picture of both side by side, but this picture gives you the general idea of the placement of the two structures:

*Image removed*

I was about to post some pics! But I figured someone else would have eventually, but oh well I'll have a go at it.

Pasadena, CA a suburb of LA. Completed in 1927 its a significant example of the City Beautiful movement of the 1920s. The building had to be vacated between 2004 - 2007 to be retrofitted.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2058/...aa2348cd_o.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/blacksage69/2067004858/

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3261/...7f2bc27e_b.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/winniezazu/2640061291

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1311/...ae29eb06_b.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14176959@N05/1444701690

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2374/...69657137_b.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattlogelin/1517952420

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3010/...e3148f58_b.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mike_s_etc/2847861826

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2189/...c7459e0d_b.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/grockpilot/2402039623

The Beverly Hills City Hall, completed in 1932.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1137/...1d0e353f_b.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/xdisone/723449892

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1051/...2ea69770_b.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ceekay/623717622

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1103/...460f2ef8_b.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/itookpictures/990243035

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2234/...1f63f569_b.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tylersandrews/2375971280

I BEG to differ. What is awkward about it? GRACELESS? That building bleeds grace, and I've only seen it in pictures. You also think that the säynätsalo town hall is beautiful. WHAT?! It's as far from beauty and originality as you can get. I've seen CAR WASHES that are more attractive. I'm a fan of modern architecture, but the neo-classical design is a BIG soft spot for me. I do NOT, however, aprreciate the brutalism style that you promote. God willing, it will become illegal in America. Brutalist structures are SO hideous and detrimental to a city's essence.


BTW, The Pasadena and Beverly Hills halls are very attractive. Also, Am I the only person on here that can see that the old LA city hall drips with masonic symbolism?

Honestly, I would have never even noticed that the 4th floor was an add-on - it blends in so well. I think the newer version actually looks better than the old on, in my opinion.

A standard.

The Marin County Civic Center

http://www.marin.ca.gov/depts/CU/Mai...icCenterSa.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marin_County_Civic_Center

Personally, I think the Dallas city hall is awful (and Pei is incredibly overrated). It has zero feel of being an important civic building, and it's completely unremarkable aside from that slanted side, which I don't even find to be interesting or appealing. In addition, it's got a huge barren plaza like most modernist civic orifices, which I've never seen being used apart from days when there are things like press conferences and the like. Oh, and the library across the plaza/street is hideous as well.

Not that ours is any better, of course. Ours is a drab, horrible concrete box. The Dallas building is a drab, horrible concrete box that thinks it isn't.

Was very glad to see the Los Angeles, the Pasedena, and the Beverlyn Hills City Halls appear. All three are beautiful gems, and each city should be justifiably proud.

Along the line of Neoclassical, I've always appreciated the old City Hall/Courthouse in Provo, which is the southern core of Salt Lake's CSA. It has great lines, and an equally beautiful interior.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2225/...a61c11e965.jpg
by Rich Legg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2367/...26cb62208f.jpg
by Rich Legg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3294/...5d1333.jpg?v=0
Joseph Nelson
The Provo City and County Building, now called the Historic Utah County Courthouse, was built between 1920-26. Joseph Nelson, the architect, traveled with a committee to the West Coast to gather ideas from other administration buildings, prepared sketches, and submitted a plan that was accepted by the committee in 1919. Rudine and Chytraus were the contractors for this two-and-one-half story Neoclassical building. Built of oolitic limestone from Sanpete County, the lower portions of the building is faced with granite from Little Cottonwood Canyon.

The sculpture grouping within the pediment was designed by Joseph Nelson and executed by sculptor Joseph Conradi. The figure of justice stands in the center with female figures on each side representing Utah County of Provo City. Horticulture, dairying, mining, livestock, and farming on the left, and music, sculpture, industry, letters, and painting on the right, are the various arts and industries symbolized in this grouping.

The interior is also elaborately ornamented. The central two-story foyer incorporates a painted arched ceiling and a stained glass skylight. The stairs at the rear of the central pavilion curve upward to the mezzanine. Two long narrow atria with coffered ceilings are accented with stained glass panels below skylights. The floors throughout are of Alaskan marble.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/30/36...23b758.jpg?v=0
Ken Lund

.

I'm too late!

Oh well, here's a pic I took of Pasadena City Hall a few years ago. Pasadena is planning to revamp the entire Civic Center by adding new landscaping, benches, and possibly even a new fountain/traffic circle in front of City Hall. I can't wait to see it start!

http://img244.imageshack.us/img244/3...2897e8bwe1.jpg

http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/3295/areamapwc4.gif

I like these:


http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/2...tyhall1uq4.jpg
From higashiyama.de


http://img396.imageshack.us/img396/9...9f67f26my8.jpg


http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/8...3f8f0f7ja1.jpg
From http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1104/...f8f0f7.jpg?v=0


http://img396.imageshack.us/img396/5...3c2df16xi6.jpg
From http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1139/...c2df16.jpg?v=0


http://img389.imageshack.us/img389/1...photo17ul5.jpg
From http://bcimpeach.com/yahoo_site_admi...173252_std.jpg


http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/5821/img3317uu0.jpg
From http://lh4.ggpht.com/_YeVVfegW8Vc/R1...Q/IMG_3317.JPG

Glad to see LA City hall getting some love here- Hands down, he's my favourite. The interior is absolutely beautiful, it seems no part was left bare or wanting for a beautiful finish.
As for Pasadena and Beverly Hills City Halls, it looks like LA City Hall's got himself a couple of very attractive sisters or girlfriends, depending on how you look at it:)

I'm surprised nobody's posted San Francisco City hall yet, she's another beauty.

SF's on page one.

Pasadena is outstanding.

^ SF's city hall is the last pic in the very first post on page 1 - and I agree that she's a beaut.

Taller dome than the US capital building - fifth largest dome in the world.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_City_Hall

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y15...r/Mvc-394x.jpg

http://www.ci.sf.ca.us/site/cityhall_page.asp?id=7557

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y15...r/MVC-387X.jpg

http://www.ci.sf.ca.us/site/cityhall_page.asp?id=7551

I like the Pei one in Dallas I think it looks sweet.

I also agree that the Philadelphia one is kinda awkward.

I too find the whole "lets knock off the US Capitol building" concept to be tired.

^I like IM Pei, but not that building, its hideous.

Classic architecture is not rooted in Washington DC, you have to look a bit further back into ancient Roman & Greek architecture....

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ityHallEye.jpg

Beautiful..in the classic sense ? - Not so much.

Beautifully representative of the government that occupies it. - Yep. lol

^^^
Maaaannn, That is gross!!! Where is it again? Even the city hall sign is a mess.

That is the New Orleans City Hall. To be fair, the picture may have been taken after Katrina. Notice the "Fire Nagin" sign. All the same, not the most beautiful city hall in North America...

Agreed SLO, I find SF's Hall more reminiscent of one of my beloved Italian beauties. I dream of someday building a great Opera House in SLC, along that same frame of reference.

I love this pic, there's definately an element of my native Parisian flair here also.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y15...r/MVC-387X.jpg
http://www.ci.sf.ca.us/site/cityhall_page.asp?id=7551

.

Gene Dub's creation of Edmonton City Hall does not deserve to be posted. The only thing going for it is the blue glowing pyramid at night.

I like St. Albert's City Hall, designed by Douglas Cardinal.

http://www.hickerphoto.com/data/medi...bert_T3370.jpg
Rolf Hicker