Alexandria City Hall

The site of Alexandria City Hall dates back to 1749 when a market was established there.[3] In 1752, lottery proceeds funded the building of a town hall and courthouse on the site, designed by local gentlemen. George Washington served as a justice in this court, which served Alexandria and Fairfax County (of which Alexandria was a part), and was a town trustee before the Revolutionary War.[4] In 1817, a new three-story brick building was built along Royal Street, including a town clock tower designed by Benjamin Henry Latrobe.[3] The tall-steepled tower became a prominent landmark. The Alexandria-Washington Masonic Lodge had its headquarters located in the building for some time. The original city hall was something of a complex, containing the Masonic Lodge, court facility, and both the principal police and fire stations of Alexandria.[4] Market stalls were once situated on the first floors of the west and north wings and in the courtyard which are absent today.[4]

Benjamin Henry Latrobe who designed the original 1817 clock tower, later replicated in 1871 and seen today.

A wide stairway with rails led from the public entrance on Fairfax Street into the courtrooms. In the northeast corner on the second floor were two offices for the Clerk, one for clerical use and the other for records storage.[4] The Court Room in the northern section of the building on the second floor was 58 feet (18 m) in length, 9 feet (2.7 m) wide, and 20 feet (6.1 m) high.[4] It had thirteen windows, with six overlooking the market square below and seven located along Cameron Street. The wainscotting was made from yellow pine with walnut rails.[4] Two doors in the western wall led into the judge's retaining room and to a stairway and private quarters of the judge and officers of the court. The main entrance to the Royal Street western wing was beneath the clock tower.

Adolf Cluss

On May 19, 1871, an extensive fire gutted the building and, given the importance of the building, the townspeople raised enough money to pay for an exact replica of the 1817 building.[4] The reconstruction was paid for by the sale of 2,000 shares in the Orange and Alexandria Railroad to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad for $40,000 and $10,000 insurance from the destroyed building.[5]

Adolf Cluss, a prominent architect, originally from Germany, who had previously designed the U.S. Department of Agriculture building in 1869 and Washington's Central Market in 1870 was swiftly hired—within a week, according to the Alexandria Gazette—to draw up plans for the building. Cluss was especially noted for his technical skill and attention to building safety and strength. Cluss soon presented a plan for the new City Hall to the council, who authorized it formally on June 28, 1871.[4] His design reflected his strong emphasis on safety and the new building would be constructed from brick with cast iron columns, and rolled iron beams and trusses with roofs made of metal or slate, discarding as many wooden or other combustible construction materials as possible.[4] Delahay, an Alexandria-based builder, presented a bid for $45,000, which was received and accepted on October 5, 1871. The Alexandria-Washington Lodge formally approved Cluss's design on April 2, 1872, and on April 29, 1872, Delahay and Cluss began the construction of the Masonic portion of the building.[4] The new City Hall would be U-shaped around a central courtyard. Another local architect, Benjamin F. Price, provided a plan for replicating the original Latrobe steeple and its estimated cost of $8,000 was paid for by private donors, notably John B. Daingerfield.[4] Price's design for the reconstructed Latrobe tower was approved by the City government on June 12, 1872.

Alexandria City Hall in 1871

In the early 20th century, several alterations were made to the site. The Alexandria Fire Company, once located in the southwest corner, vacated the building and opened the way for the expansion of the police headquarters and prisoner detention cells on the first floor. The Court Records Room was relocated from the second floor to the northeast corner of the first floor and bathrooms were added.[4]

In 1945, the Alexandria-Washington Masonic Lodge moved out of City Hall when the new George Washington Masonic National Memorial was completed on King Street.[3] Interior renovation of the vacated space then commenced and a second Court Room was established on the second floor with additional offices. In 1960-61, an addition was built, filling in the old courtyard; it was not until 1981 that this addition was linked to the main building and elevators, stairs and corridors were added.[3] A plaza, completed in 1967, is located towards the southern half of the City Hall block.[3] It is an open, landscaped plaza with a central fountain, built as part of the Gadsby Commercial Urban Renewal Project. The current City Hall building houses many of the Alexandria government offices, including the City Council Chambers on the second floor.

Little remains of the original interior furnishings from 1871, and all that remains are the masonry bearing walls and cast iron columns.[4] The hall was extensively renovated several times in the twentieth century.[4] Some traces of old plaster, paint, and wallpaper are visible in some parts however. In the second floor chamber of the northeast pavilion, the wooden framework is also visible from the cove ceiling. When the structure was extended in 1961 it was necessary to remove some of the original cast iron columns, leaving except ten columns in the central pavilion.[4] When a new Court House opened on King Street in 1981, the court rooms, judicial chambers, prisoner holding cells, clerk's office, jury rooms, witness room, and ancillary facilities were moved out of City Hall.[4] Today the building functions exclusively as a City Hall.

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Alexandria, Virginia

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alexandria City Hall.

• Alexandria Market House & City Hall (Masonic Hall), 301 King Street, Alexandria, Independent City, VA at the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS)