The Old City Hall of Portland, Maine, was located in what was then known as Market Square or Haymarket Square (Monument Square today) between 1825 and 1888, when it was demolished. In 1862, it was replaced by an earlier version of the City Hall located today on Congress Street, a short distance northeast of the original location.
History
An 1830s view
The Town of Portland built its first town hall in 1825, seven years before it incorporated as a city.[1] Over the building's 63 years, it was also known as Market Hall[2] and Military Hall.[1] The original simple gable structure was modified in 1833 by Charles Quincy Clapp, who updated the building to the Greek Revival style by removing the cupola from the roof and adding a portico to the front.[2] The cupola was reinstalled on the Universalist school house (now Alumni Hall on the University of New England campus)[3] in Portland's Deering neighborhood.[4]
In 1827, the upper floor housed the second public gymnasium in the country, founded by eccentric and influential writer, critic, and activist John Neal.[5][6][7] The gym was based on Turnen gymnastics, which Neal learned in London from Carl Voelker, a German refugee.[5][8] The first floor in the building's early years housed stalls used by farmers to sell agricultural products.[1] The building was the site of the 1855 Portland Rum Riot which involved mayor Neal Dow and led to one death.[1] It was replaced by a new city hall in 1862 on Congress Street at the head of Exchange Street.[9] The old city hall was demolished in 1888 and replaced by the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, at which time Market Square was renamed Monument Square.[10]
The United States Hotel stood behind (to the northeast) the original city hall.[11][12] It was taken over by the Edwards & Walker Company. The building was demolished in 1965 and replaced four years later by the Casco Bank Building (today's One Monument Square) in 1969.[13]
Monument Square pictured in 2017. The Soldiers and Sailors Monument now stands on the former site of the original city hall
Barnes, Albert F. (1984). Greater Portland Celebration 350. Portland, Maine: Guy Gannett Publishing Co. ISBN9780930096588.
City of Portland (1940). Portland City Guide. Portland, Maine: The Forest City Printing Company.
Eisenberg, Christiane (2007). "'German Gymnastics' in Britain, or the Failure of Culture Transfer". In Manz, Stefan; Beerbühl, Margrit Schulte; Davis, John R. (eds.). Migration and Transfer from Germany to Britain, 1660–1914. Munich, Germany: K.G. Saur. pp. 131–146. ISBN9783598230028.
