Martinsville City Hall - Martinsville, Indiana
Posted by: 
BruceS
N 39° 25.569 W 086° 25.626
16S E 549309 N 4364225
City hall for the city of Martinsville, Indiana.
Waymark Code: WM7CE1
Location: Indiana, United States
Date Posted: 10/04/2009
Views: 3
"Martinsville City Hall, 59 South Jefferson Street, Renaissance Revival, 1917.
This outstanding municipal building is made of brick supplied by the Martinsville Brick Company. Rectangular in plan, it features a hipped asphalt roof over a seven-bay front facade. Decorative brackets are found under the eaves. Windows on the second floor are arched, with an elliptical, multi-pane fixed sash over two six-over-six double hung sash. The first floor windows are rectangular six-over-one double hung sash. The central entrance features Doric columns and entablature framing a multi-pane, wood-frame door with rectangular, multi-pane transom. The building is banded by a limestone watertable. The foundation is limestone. A connected threebay fire station is found on the north. The bunkhouse consists of two stories; the garage is one story. An early--if not original--siren is located on the roof of the bunkhouse.
The Martinsville City Hall was built in 1917 during a Democrat administration. On February 23, 1917, the Martinsville Democrat trumpeted "SOME BIG DOINGS AT THE COUNCIL": There were some big doings at the City Council Monday night and some plans started that will make a big change and big improvement in our municipal life --history in fact. Why, just think: we are going to have a City Hall--a stately building (not in harmony with the county capitol--the court house--but one in harmony with the city's better enterprises).
Plans for the new City Hall included a permanent home for the fire department, which had just purchased its first motorized fire truck. The building also contained the council chamber; mayor's office; offices for the clerk, treasurer and city engineer; and an assembly room on the second floor. The contract for the new building was let to W. W. Wilson. The total cost was estimated to be $24,336.58.
The city Republicans opposed the construction of a new City Hall during wartime and complained bitterly about the Democrats' excessive and insensitive expenditure. Construction commenced and continued through 1917, and by January 1, 1918, the Democrats had been thrown out of office without ever taking up residence in the building they built. Today, the building continues to house the city offices and fire department. The building underwent remodeling in 1986." - Historic District Nomination Form
The building continues to house the city offices however the fire department has moved to a new station.