City Halls - at least the ugly ones

Ex-Ithacan · #1 Posted **Jan 29, 2009, 11:44 PM**

Hope you mods don't mind this thread here (wasn't sure where to put it

)

Thought I'd see if any of you folks have an ugly City Hall in your town.
Though Ithaca has a lot of nice buildings and beautiful scenery, City Hall is definately lacking (on the right):

So ya got anything worse?

FREKI · #2 Posted **Jan 29, 2009, 11:57 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ex-Ithacan

So ya got anything worse?

No, can't say that I do..

Your is not ugly though, just doesn't seem to reflect what it is - looks more like a renovated industrial building..

Maybe if they chalked up the walls so it would be shiny white and maybe added a large bronze sign or letters along with the city's coat of arms..

Ayreonaut · #3 Posted **Jan 29, 2009, 11:58 PM**

That one in Wheeling, WV.

Bergenser · #4 Posted **Jan 30, 2009, 1:57 AM**

Can you see that gray high-rise in the middle totally out of the place?

Believe it or not that's this old city's City Hall, the same people who have
made all the NIMBY restrictions here, have ironicly build a high-rise for themselves,
and they use it to spread NIMBYistic opinions to the people...
New, modern, good-looking high-rise projects are always being compared to it like: "the building is to be 39 meters, in comparison the City hall is 51m."

The high-rise is also called "The eight Mountain of Bergen"(Bergen has "officially" seven mountains, but that's far from reality, but it's a tradition to say it) People in Bergen are totally ignorant about their own city, it seems like even our own politicans seems to think it's our city's tallest, but it's not...

FREKI · #5 Posted **Jan 30, 2009, 6:23 AM**

^wow, for a city as beautiful as Bergen both in terms of architecture as well as nature that is suprising.. how the heck could that happen, that should be a grand old building..

Oh well atleast it looks to fit in fairly well without being dominating it's surroundings.. but a re-cladding would work wonders

LMich · #6 Posted **Jan 30, 2009, 6:43 AM**

This isn't the most appropriate place for the thread, but I really can't figure out where this goes.

Anyway, I've heard many fans of modernism say that my city's city hall is a great example of the style, but I'm not a fan. The cheap-looking window panels really take the cake, for me. I guess it doesn't help that the place is too small for the existing city government. I'm talking file cabinents packing the hallways. It's probably a fire hazard. lol

Lansing City Hall & Central Police Precinct

(my photo)

dugdogmaster · #7 Posted **Jan 30, 2009, 7:39 AM**

Photos taken by me

Ex-Ithacan · #8 Posted **Jan 30, 2009, 3:56 PM**

@ FREKI - that's a beaut.

Yikes Bergenser, that looks so out of place.

LMich - doesn't look too bad, but not really a city hall look to me.

ddm - looks like a bomb shelter they forgot to completely bury.

dugdogmaster · #9 Posted **Feb 7, 2009, 5:01 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ex-Ithacan

ddm - looks like a bomb shelter they forgot to completely bury.

And this isn't the only one in my area that looks like this. The Cities of Sharon and Hermitage also have quite ugly City Halls. All three were built around the same time in the early 80s, and all have the same type of architectural style.

Tosspot · #10 Posted **Feb 7, 2009, 5:45 PM**

Ex-Ithacan - actually that wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be.

JManc · #11 Posted **Feb 7, 2009, 10:59 PM**

ithaca's city hall is far from ugly...it's not city hallish looking.

bergen, norway. now that's one ugly city hall. lansing's looks like a hospital.

blade_bltz · #12 Posted **Feb 7, 2009, 11:35 PM**

I won't post Boston City Hall here, 'cause I love it. I hate the plaza as much as the next guy (actually, probably more), but I think the structure itself is beautiful.

Would I jump at the chance to turn back time and preserve Scollay Square? YES

Top Of The Park · #13 Posted **Feb 8, 2009, 12:51 AM**

I must agree

LMich · #14 Posted **Feb 8, 2009, 8:42 AM**

I'm kind of surprised some don't think that Lansing's doesn't look like a municipal building. Maybe, it's because quite a few major city halls in the state are modernist boxes:

Grand Rapids City-County Complex

eridony

Detroit City-County Building

Cardcow.com

SlidellWx · #15 Posted **Feb 8, 2009, 11:46 AM**

I have never been particularly impressed by New Orleans City Hall.

I prefer the old city hall building...Gallier Hall.

KitchenerBitcher · #16 Posted **Feb 8, 2009, 2:31 PM**

I like that Grand Rapids building! lol

SouthSky · #17 Posted **Feb 11, 2009, 6:01 AM**

Mobile Government Plaza - City-County Complex

Atrium

Kind of cool, right? Well, sorry to spoil it... but here's the exterior:

And a cartoon in the local paper:

CoastersBolts · #18 Posted **Feb 11, 2009, 7:48 AM**

I live in a very beautiful city, San Diego.

This should be (and most people think it is) our city hall. It's actually the County Administration Building.

Unfortunately, this is San Diego City Hall

On the other side of San Diego City Hall is C Street, along which the San Diego Trolley light rail system runs. The street is only open to vehicular traffic in certain spots and the Trolley seems to attract homeless, making City Hall and its location that much worse.

There are tentative plans to knock down the old building and replace it with this:

But given the economy, we'll see if and when this project happens.

Ex-Ithacan · #19 Posted **Feb 11, 2009, 4:01 PM**

After seeing some of these, I don't feel quite as bad about Ithaca's.

Caernavon · #20 Posted **Feb 12, 2009, 6:49 PM**

I don't want to sound like I'm bragging or anything, becuase I'm not, but in theory shouldn't this thread be closed after this?

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

Boston City Hall. It has been called an excellent example of Brutalist architecture (can't argue with that one), and in 1976 was named in a poll as the 6th greatest building in American history. As I'm sure there were more than just 6 buildings in the US at the time, I'm going to have to say they got that one wrong.