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{{short description|Chief administrative building of a municipality}}
{{Redirect|Town Hall|the website|Townhall||Town Hall (disambiguation)}}
{{Redirect-multi|2|City Hall|Rathaus}}

[[File:New York City Hall.jpg|thumb|[[New York City Hall]], the oldest continuous seat of local government in the [[United States]], completed in 1812<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/25/nyregion/the-reporters-of-city-hall-return-to-their-old-perch.html?_r=0|title=The Reporters of City Hall Return to Their Old Perch|author=Michael M. Grynbaum|newspaper=The New York Times|date=May 24, 2012|access-date=December 6, 2013}}</ref>]]
[[File:South Palm Beach FL town hall front with Jeep.jpg|thumb|right|Town hall, police, and [[fire station]] in [[South Palm Beach, Florida]], United States]]
[[File:Town Hall, Fordwich, Kent.jpg|thumb|16th-century [[Fordwich Town Hall]] in [[Kent]], England, closely resembling a [[market house|market hall]] in its design]]
[[File:Wroclaw-Rathaus.jpg|thumb|13th-century [[Wrocław Town Hall|Old Town Hall]] in [[Wrocław]], [[Poland]]]]
[[File:Penang City Hall.jpg|thumb|right|[[City Hall, Penang|George Town City Hall]], [[Penang]], houses the office of [[Municipal Council of Penang Island]] in Malaysia]]
[[File:Prefeitura do Recife(2).jpg|thumb|Town hall of [[Recife, Brazil]]]]
[[File:Stadshus stockholm.JPG|thumb|[[Stockholm City Hall]], where the [[Nobel Banquet]] takes place on 10 December each year.]]

In [[local government]], a '''city hall''', '''town hall''', '''civic centre''' (in the [[United Kingdom|UK]] or [[Australia]]), '''guildhall''', or a '''municipal building''' (in the [[Philippines]]), is the chief [[administration (government)|administrative]] building of a city,<ref name="mw">{{cite web|url= http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/city+hall|title=city hall |year=2010 |work=Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary |access-date=2010-05-19 |quote=1 : the chief administrative building of a city<br>2 a : a municipal government<br>   b : city officialdom or bureaucracy }}</ref> town, or other [[municipality]]. It usually houses the [[City council|city]] or [[town council]], its associated departments, and their employees. It also usually functions as the base of the [[mayor]] of a city, town, [[borough]], [[county]] or [[shire]], and of the executive arm of the municipality (if one exists distinctly from the council). Other terms in non-English languages are '''Mairie''' or '''Hôtel de ville''' ([[France]]), '''Gemeindehaus''' or '''Rathaus''' ([[Germany]]), '''Municipio''' ([[Italy]]), '''Rådhus''' ([[Denmark]]), '''Paços do Concelho''' ([[Portugal]]), '''Stadhuis''' ([[The Netherlands]]) and '''Stadshus''' ([[Sweden]]).

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. The hall may be used for council meetings and other significant events. This large chamber, the "town hall" (and its later variant "city hall") has become synonymous with the whole building, and with the administrative body housed in it. 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 the [[quality 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. In some European countries, the town hall is the venue for the declaration of [[Christmas Peace]], such as [[Turku]] and [[Porvoo]] in [[Finland]]<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.visitporvoo.fi/christmas-in-porvoo |title=Christmas in Porvoo |work=City of Porvoo |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200929170211/https://www.visitporvoo.fi/christmas-in-porvoo |archive-date=29 September 2020 |access-date=30 January 2021}}</ref> and [[Tartu]] in [[Estonia]].<ref>[http://www.tartupostimees.ee/256038/kahjumis-uppsala-maja-viskab-voodid-valja Christmas Peace is Proclaimed], Tartu Postimees.ee, retrieved 17 June 2020</ref>

As symbols of local government, city and town halls have distinctive architecture, and the buildings may have great historical significance{{snd}} for example the [[Guildhall, London]]. City hall buildings may also serve as [[cultural icon]]s that symbolize their cities.

== Nomenclature ==
In [[Commonwealth countries]], the term "town hall" may be used even in a city. This is often the case in the [[United Kingdom]] (examples being [[Manchester Town Hall]] and [[Liverpool 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 a [[municipality]] of [[city status]]. This is the case in [[North 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 of [[Brisbane City Hall|Brisbane]] in Australia, and of [[City Hall, Cardiff|Cardiff]], [[City Hall, Norwich|Norwich]] and [[City Hall, Bristol|Bristol]] in the UK. [[City Hall, Dublin|City Hall]] in [[Dublin]], Ireland, is another example. [[City Hall, Southwark|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.

The ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'' sums up the generic terms:

* town hall: "A building used for the administration of local government, the holding of court sessions, public meetings, entertainments, etc.; (in early use also) a large hall used for such purposes within a larger building or set of buildings. ... By [[metonymy]]: the government or administration of a town; the town authorities."<ref>{{OED|town hall, n.}}</ref>
* city hall: "(The name of) the chief administrative building or offices of a municipal government. ... Originally and chiefly ''North American''. Municipal officers collectively; city government."<ref>{{OED|City Hall, n.}}</ref>

[[County Council]] administrations in parts of [[England 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 own councils may have [[borough]] halls. [[Scottish local government]] in larger cities operates from the "City Chambers", otherwise the "Town House".<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.chambersharrap.co.uk/ |title=www.chambersharrap.co.uk |publisher=Chambersharrap.co.uk |access-date=2012-12-01}}</ref>

Other names are occasionally used. The administrative headquarters of the [[City of London]] retains its Anglo-Saxon name, the [[Guildhall, London|Guildhall]], signifying a place where taxes were paid. In a few English cities (including [[Council House, Birmingham|Birmingham]], [[Council House, Coventry|Coventry]] and [[Nottingham Council House|Nottingham]]) the preferred term is "Council House": this was also true in [[Bristol]] until 2012, when the building was renamed "[[City Hall, Bristol|City Hall]]". In Birmingham, there is a distinction between the Council House and the [[Birmingham Town Hall|Town Hall]], a concert and meeting venue which pre-dates it. In [[Sheffield]], the distinction is between the [[Sheffield Town Hall|Town Hall]], the seat of local government, and the [[Sheffield City Hall|City Hall]], a concert and ballroom venue. In [[Leeds]], the [[Leeds Town Hall|Town 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 new [[Leeds Civic Hall|Civic Hall]].

== History ==
Large halls called [[basilica]]s were used in [[ancient Rome]] for the administration of justice, as meeting places, and for trade.

In the [[Early Middle Ages]], the [[great hall]], a single large open chamber, was the main, and sometimes ''only'' room of the home of a [[feudal lord]]. There the lord lived with his family and retinue, ate, slept, and administered rule and justice. Activities in the hall played an essential role in the functioning of the feudal manor, the administrative unit of society. As manorial dwellings developed into [[manor house]]s, [[castle]]s, and [[palace]]s, the great hall remained an essential unit within the architectural complex.

In the later Middle Ages or [[early modern period]], many European [[market town]]s erected communal [[market hall]]s, comprising a covered space to function as a [[marketplace]] 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 of local or regional government. Cities administered by a group of elected or chosen representatives, rather than by a lord or princely ruler, required a place for them to meet. The [[Cologne City Hall]] of 1135 is a prominent example of the municipal autonomy of medieval cities. The [[Palazzo Pubblico]] of the [[Republic of Siena]] and the [[Palazzo Vecchio]] of the [[Republic of Florence]], both 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 very tall towers, have ancient clocks by which the townsfolk can regulate their lives, and have storerooms for [[muniment]]s. These features became standard for town halls across Europe. The 15th-century [[Brussels Town Hall]], with its {{convert|96|m|ft|0|adj=on|sp=us}} tower, is one of the grandest examples of the medieval era, serving as a model for 19th-century town halls such as the [[Rathaus, Vienna]].

During the 19th century, town halls often included reading rooms to provide free education to the public, and it later became customary for the council to establish and maintain a [[public library]]. The grand chamber or meeting place, the "town hall" itself, became a place for receptions, banquets, balls, and public entertainment. Town halls were often equipped with large [[pipe organ]]s to facilitate public recitals.

In the 20th century, town halls have served the public as places for voting, examinations, [[vaccinations]], relief in times of disaster, and for posting lists of war casualties, as well as for the more usual civil functions, festivities, and entertainments. Local councils have increasingly tended to move administrative functions into modern offices. Where new premises are designed and constructed to house local governments, the functions of an administrative office and of a civic town hall have become separated.

== Language ==
Particularly in North America, "city hall" can be used as a [[metonym]] to mean [[municipal government]], or government in general, as in the [[axiom]] "You can't fight city hall".<ref name=mw/> "Town hall" tends to have less formal connotations (cf. [[Town meeting]]).

== See also ==
* [[List of city and town halls]]
* [[Barangay hall]]
* [[Market hall]]
* [[Moot hall]]
* [[Town meeting]]
* [[Administrative centre]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |first=Colin |last=Cunningham |title=Victorian and Edwardian Town Halls |location=London |publisher=Routledge & Kegan Paul |year=1981 |isbn=071000723X |url-access=registration |url= https://archive.org/details/victorianedwardi0000cunn }}
* {{cite book |last= Tittler |first=Robert |title=Architecture and power: the town hall and the English urban community, c.1500–1640 |year= 1991 |location=Oxford |publisher=Clarendon Press |isbn=978-0-19-820230-1 }}
* {{cite book|last=Drooker|first=Arthur|title=City Hall: Masterpieces of American Civic Architecture|year=2021|publisher=[[Schiffer Publishing]]|isbn=978-0-76-436049-7}}

{{Commons category}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seat Of Local Government}}
[[Category:Seats of local government| ]]
[[Category:Local government]]

[[Fr:Mairie]]

Town hall - Revision history

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