The original
Town Hall of Stamford,
Connecticut was opened on November 1, 1871 on
the corner of
Atlantic
and
Main Street.
It was a red brick building in
Second Empire
and Victorian Gothic style. Unfortunately in February of
1904, the structure caught fire and all but the shell remained as ash.
In 1905 architects Edgar Josselyn and Nathan Mellon were hired to design
a new town hall, which is the one that remains today. It is a
three-story building in Beaux Arts style, which was a very popular style of
architecture at the turn of the twentieth century. It
includes floor to ceiling windows, a stunning grand divided staircase with
iron-rod railings, a Czechoslovakian glass ceiling above the staircase, terrazzo
tile flooring and scagliola plaster on the lobby walls. The
outside is limestone faced, flanked with Corinthian columns, and topped with a
large clock tower. Its original purpose was to house the
office of the mayor, city officials, the police station, courthouse, and even a
horse stable. After World War II though, this building simply
could not accommodate the increasing demand for municipal services and offices
in the growing City of
Stamford. The city officials and
Mayor got dispersed to other buildings on and off
Atlantic Street.
In 1961 the city purchased
429 Atlantic Street from Hartford Electric Light
Company to serve as offices for the growing government. By
1963, the only city operations left in
Old
Town Hall
were the town clerk, the judge of probate, and the registrars of voters.
In 1972 there was a movement to preserve this beautiful building and it
was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. In
1986, the city purchased the modern office building at
888 Washington Boulevard
and moved all the city government offices and the Mayor to this current
location. From around 1988 till today, OTH has remained
vacant.
Why Redevelop Old Town Hall?
- Registered Historic Landmark
- Contains murals and artwork
- Iconic symbol of
Stamford
to a wide range of citizens
- Allowing it to deteriorate is
unacceptable
- It will never be demolished
- Consequently, what does it
say/symbolize about this city if it’s allowed to be abandoned and deteriorating?
- Is it wise to just simply keep
maintaining the building with no re-use strategy?