City Halls

Viewing single structures out of their urban context is probably a big old no-no. This, after all, is not an architecture blog. But just as a thought experiment--a jumping off point, if you'll forgive me--let's do it. One can argue whether or not City Halls are universally the heart of a city, but let's take a moment with this thought in mind: whether they accomplish the role of "heart" or "brain" or your preferred organ of the body politic, when city halls are built, those that built the structure believed the space would serve a central role to some degree. Perhaps we will find that some City Halls are more successful than others at reflecting the essence of their city, but to know this, we'll first have to take a closer look.

In no particular order:

Paris (1357-1892)



Brussels (1402-1868)


New York (built 1811)


Berlin (completed 1869)


Moscow (built 1880s)


Buenos Aires (completed 1893)


Mumbai (completed 1893)


Philadelphia (completed 1901)


Washington D.C (completed 1908)


Chicago (completed 1911)



Stockholm (completed 1923)


Seoul (completed 1926, currently under renovation)


Los Angeles (completed 1928)


Karachi (completed 1930)


Vancouver (completed 1936)


Manila (opened 1939)


Lima (completed 1944)


Mexico City (completed 1948)


Miami (built in 1933 as Pan American Seaplane Terminal at Dinner Key, converted in 1954)


Detroit (completed 1954)


Istanbul (completed 1960)


Toronto (completed 1965)


Boston (built 1969)


Tokyo (completed 1991)


London (completed 2002)


Shanghai


Sao Paulo


Osaka


Dhaka


Bangkok


Barcelona


Bogota