Northampton City Hall - Northampton, MA - City and Town Halls on Waymarking.com

In 1846, the town voted to build a new town hall. In May 1849 the design for a new town hall by architect William Pratt was adopted. The building was completed and dedicated in 1850. On September 5, 1883, Northampton became a city.

Northampton City Hall two-story, stucco covered, building with a flat roof with a gable in the front and towers at the four corners. The north facing façade is divided into three sections with the square towers at the ends and octagonal towers on either side of the center section. All towers have crenelated roof-lines to give the building the appearance of a medieval fortress

The center section has a set of steps leading up to a recessed entrance under a balcony which is supported by four brown columns. The entrance is flanked by tall narrow windows. The second story has a central four part window behind the balcony which is flanked by a pair of tall, narrow windows. The sections between octagonal towers and the end towers have a single narrow window on the first and second levels. A doors and windows have brownstone lintels. The building is six bays deep with identical 6 by 12 windows at the upper and lower level of each bay.

Northampton is a city of about 30,000 people and the county seat of Hampshire County. Its nickname is Paradise City, a name derived from Swedish opera singer Jenny Lind's description of Northampton as "Paradise in America". Northampton is a culturally progressive city, a tradition that dates back the the mid-19th century when Northampton was the home to a utopian community of abolitionists called the Northampton Association of Education.

Northampton values intellectual discourse. Many famous people including: Jonathan Edwards, Horace Greeley, William Lloyd Garrison, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Henry Ward Beecher, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Sojourner Truth, P.T. Barnum, and Frederick Douglass have given speeches to the people of Northampton. It is the home to Smith College, arguably the most prestigious woman's college in the United States.

Today Northampton has become a center of the arts and entertainment. He has a lively downtown area with fine restaurants, theaters and clubs. The Paradise City Arts festival is an annual event as is the New Year's Eve celebration called First Night. In the spring and fall Smith College hosts a popular flower show.

Name: Northampton City Hall Address: 210 Main Street Northampton, MA United States 01060 Date of Construction: 1850 Architect: William Fenno Pratt Web Site for City/Town/Municipality: [Web Link] Memorials/Commemorations/Dedications: Not listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   07/02/2022 The Burrow visited it