Kitchener City Hall
Encyclopedia
The City Hall of Kitchener, Ontario
, Canada
, has gone through many iterations through the 20th century, culminating in the current building, which opened in 1993.
The original location of the municipal seat was on the block bound by King, Frederick, Duke and Scott streets and home today to Market Square Shopping Centre; the city hall
faced King, with the area towards Duke hosting the weekly Kitchener Farmers' Market from 1869 to 1872 (relocated to building in rear), rebuilt 1907 and lasted until 1973. The last of the city halls on the site was built in 1924, a three-story Renaissance Revival (similar to St. Lawrence Hall
in Toronto
) porticoed building topped with a clock tower. It was demolished in 1973 in a decision controversial to this day. The stones and workings of the clock tower were labelled and stored. While City Hall moved, the Farmer's Market was relocated within the same small location (in Market Square Mall) from 1973 to 2004.
The city moved its offices across Frederick Street to the upper floors of the Oxlea office tower in 1973. Municipal affairs continued in leased space at this unremarkable location for the next twenty years; the former site was converted to the Market Square shopping centre, which housed the Farmers' Market below its parking garage.
In the 1990s, the city decided that it should operate from a dedicated, modern building again. It purchased the complete block enclosed by King, College, Duke, and Young streets, and held an architectural competition to design the building. The winner was Toronto
architects Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects
(Mertins & Wright, 1990) who laid out an open square facing King Street complete with a fountain/skating rink; it is enclosed on two sides by three-storey wings, with the main building at the back of the square. The west side of the edifice houses the council chamber; a central, open rotunda defines an indoor public space, and the east elevation consists of a twelve-storey office tower.
The parts of the building are named for former names of Kitchener; the wings surrounding the square are named for Sandhills and Ebytown, while the Berlin
Tower carries the most recent of the former names. Gardens and other open space face Duke Street at the rear. The new City Hall opened with generally enthusiastic support in 1993.
The textures of the building are varied. Much of both the interior and exterior is in red sandstone
imported from India
; domestic granite
makes up pavement and floors. A unique feature is the 'green wall'; passing from the south on a parallel with Gaukel Street, this bulwark of green stone continues, at various heights, through the square and building across the entire block. The council chamber is a modern, approachable space, where the mayor and councillors sit at a circular furnishing, surrounded by staff facilities and observed by the visitors' gallery. The building's rotunda hosts many events, from art exhibits to public gatherings.
The clock tower of the former city hall was finally reassembled 22 years after being dismantled, and placed on a new base in Victoria Park in view of the new city hall in 1995.
The city hall makes appearances in the sitcom, Dan for Mayor
, as the Wessex City Hall.
Kitchener, Ontario
The City of Kitchener is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It was the Town of Berlin from 1854 until 1912 and the City of Berlin from 1912 until 1916. The city had a population of 204,668 in the Canada 2006 Census...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, has gone through many iterations through the 20th century, culminating in the current building, which opened in 1993.
The original location of the municipal seat was on the block bound by King, Frederick, Duke and Scott streets and home today to Market Square Shopping Centre; the city hall
City hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall or a municipal building or civic centre, is the chief administrative building of a city...
faced King, with the area towards Duke hosting the weekly Kitchener Farmers' Market from 1869 to 1872 (relocated to building in rear), rebuilt 1907 and lasted until 1973. The last of the city halls on the site was built in 1924, a three-story Renaissance Revival (similar to St. Lawrence Hall
St. Lawrence Hall
St. Lawrence Hall is a meeting hall in Toronto, Canada next to the St. Lawrence Market. It was built, alongside the new city hall, in 1850 after an 1849 fire destroyed much of the market. The Renaissance Revival style building was designed by William Thomas. It was created to be Toronto's public...
in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
) porticoed building topped with a clock tower. It was demolished in 1973 in a decision controversial to this day. The stones and workings of the clock tower were labelled and stored. While City Hall moved, the Farmer's Market was relocated within the same small location (in Market Square Mall) from 1973 to 2004.
The city moved its offices across Frederick Street to the upper floors of the Oxlea office tower in 1973. Municipal affairs continued in leased space at this unremarkable location for the next twenty years; the former site was converted to the Market Square shopping centre, which housed the Farmers' Market below its parking garage.
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
architects Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects
Bruce Kuwabara
Bruce Bunji Kuwabara, B.Arch, OAA, FRAIC, RCA, AIA is a Canadian architect and partner in the firm Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects ....
(Mertins & Wright, 1990) who laid out an open square facing King Street complete with a fountain/skating rink; it is enclosed on two sides by three-storey wings, with the main building at the back of the square. The west side of the edifice houses the council chamber; a central, open rotunda defines an indoor public space, and the east elevation consists of a twelve-storey office tower.
The parts of the building are named for former names of Kitchener; the wings surrounding the square are named for Sandhills and Ebytown, while the Berlin
Berlin to Kitchener name change
Through the latter half of the 19th century and into the first decade of the 20th, the City of Berlin, Ontario, Canada, was a bustling industrial centre celebrating its German heritage...
Tower carries the most recent of the former names. Gardens and other open space face Duke Street at the rear. The new City Hall opened with generally enthusiastic support in 1993.
The textures of the building are varied. Much of both the interior and exterior is in red sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
imported from India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
; domestic granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
makes up pavement and floors. A unique feature is the 'green wall'; passing from the south on a parallel with Gaukel Street, this bulwark of green stone continues, at various heights, through the square and building across the entire block. The council chamber is a modern, approachable space, where the mayor and councillors sit at a circular furnishing, surrounded by staff facilities and observed by the visitors' gallery. The building's rotunda hosts many events, from art exhibits to public gatherings.
The clock tower of the former city hall was finally reassembled 22 years after being dismantled, and placed on a new base in Victoria Park in view of the new city hall in 1995.
The city hall makes appearances in the sitcom, Dan for Mayor
Dan for Mayor
Dan for Mayor is a Canadian television sitcom starring Fred Ewanuick that debuted on March 1, 2010 on CTV and The Comedy Network. It premiered the same night as Hiccups, a show created by Corner Gas star Brent Butt that also features fellow Corner Gas alumna Nancy Robertson. On June 7, 2010, both...
, as the Wessex City Hall.