United States historic place
| Peabody City Hall | |
| U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
| U.S. Historic district Contributing property | |
 Peabody City Hall | |
  Show map of Massachusetts Show map of the United States | |
| Location | Peabody, Massachusetts |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 42°31′35″N 70°55′44″W / 42.52639°N 70.92889°W / 42.52639; -70.92889 |
| Built | 1883 |
| Built by | Hamilton & Balcomb |
| Architect | Rufus Sargent |
| Architectural style | Second Empire |
| Part of | Peabody Civic Center Historic District (ID80000477) |
| NRHP reference No. | 72000142 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | July 27, 1972 |
| Designated CP | November 25, 1980 |
Peabody City Hall is the historic city hall of Peabody, Massachusetts. It is located at 24 Lowell Street, near Peabody Square.
History and architecture
City Hall was built in 1883 as Town Hall, becoming City Hall when Peabody reincorporated as a city in 1916. The architect was Rufus Sargent of Newburyport. The building was built by Hamilton & Balcomb of Salem.
The three-story Second Empire brick building was built in 1883. It follows a roughly square plan, with central projecting sections on each side, and a steeply pitched mansard-style roof with turret-like sections at the building corners. The front entry, facing Lowell Street, projects further than the others, with stairs leading to a recessed doorway sheltered by a portico supported by columns and pilasters. The building's red brick is set off by bands of granite trim, including that surrounding the arched portions of the building's windows.
As built, the basement floor contained police offices and the first floor contained the government offices and a large hall. The second and third floors of the building was entirely taken up by an auditorium, used for performances and town meeting, later city council meetings. This space was decorated by Matthew L. Robinson of Boston. In 1946, due to structural weaknesses the auditorium was ordered closed by state officials, and city council moved into the large hall downstairs. In 1980 the building was restored, and city council moved back upstairs into the newly renamed Frank L. Wiggin Auditorium, and the police department moved to its own building, the former space being taken over by other government offices. In 2018 the auditorium was refurbished again, with hopes that it could be again used for performances.
The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972, and included in the Peabody Civic Center Historic District in 1980.
See also
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
- ^ "MACRIS inventory record for Peabody City Hall". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved January 20, 2014.
- Ethan Forman, "City refurbishes auditorium, with hopes of reviving concert hall past," salemnews.com, The Salem News, December 4, 2018. Accessed June 22, 2021.
| U.S. National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts | |||||||||||||||||
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This article about a National Register of Historic Places listing in Essex County, Massachusetts, is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it. |
- City and town halls on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts
- Government buildings completed in 1883
- Buildings and structures in Peabody, Massachusetts
- City halls in Massachusetts
- National Register of Historic Places in Essex County, Massachusetts
- Historic district contributing properties in Massachusetts
- History of Peabody, Massachusetts
- Essex County, Massachusetts Registered Historic Place stubs