Bloemfontein City Hall

Bloemfontein City Hall (Afrikaans: Stadhuis van Bloemfontein or Bloemfontein-stadsaal) is a building in Bloemfontein which houses the local city council. the building was completed in 1936 and burned by vandals in 2017. The building lies on President Brand Street downtown next to the Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa and facing Hertzog Square.

Building

The building is a sandstone structure designed by Gordon Leith. The city hall has a large room, the council meeting room, behind its eastern entrance. The entrance on President Brand Street is designed symmetrically with two towers. Pillars give the east entrance neoclassical elements. Over the symmetrical entrance hang signs indicating Stadhuis and City Hall. Above these lie the former city coat of arms.

During the 1980s, new municipal offices were opened alongside the building. Even after municipal government changes in 2000 and its 2011 reclassification, the local government has continued to use the town hall.

Destruction

On June 21, 2017, vandals set the building on fire. The fire was lit during a protest by the South African Municipal Workers' Union held at the building earlier during the day. The municipal archives in the building were lost in the fire.[1]

References
  1. "Bloemfontein Stadsaal: Mlamleli is die 'kruitvat in die vuur'". Rosestad Nuus. Retrieved 22 June 2017.

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