Absence makes the heart grow fonder
Old city hall is gone, but its history lives on
The old town hall, situated where the former structure was on the Green, was completed in 1870. When the site was being prepped to construct the basement for the later hall, a wall collapsed which led to the entire building having to be reconstructed from 1933-1937. The northern wing was added after 1948 and the southern in 1964. File photo courtesy of CITY HALL
NORTH ROYALTON – The absence of the former city hall is unavoidable and sure to be felt by many attending the upcoming community festival.
For 80 years the building stood as a landmark in the city.
But even prior to this, the City Green housed the two original town halls.
According to a sesquicentennial pamphlet, the very first town hall was built out of logs by Knight Sprague at a cost of $78, a figure quoted by the late Mayor Lester Edgerton, in 1827. The log hall was replaced with a two-story building in 1870 at a cost of just under $3,000 using bricks made right here in North Royalton, and the first high school classes were held here.
When Edgerton became mayor in 1932, a contract was authorized to build the basement of what we all know as the old city hall, because the two-story hall built in 1870 had been condemned 35 years earlier but continued to be used.
In 1932 when the city was performing excavation work, a wall collapsed, necessitating the reconstruction of the entire structure. A town hall meeting had just been hosted there the night before the collapse. The new basement was completed in 1933 and the center portion of the old city hall building was completed in 1937 at a cost of $15,000.
The first floor of the north wing, which originally housed the fire station and would later become the mayor’s office, was paid for by a bond issue of $25,000 and was added in 1948.
The second floor, which eventually became city council’s caucus room, and the southern wing, which initially served as the police department and later housed finance, were added and the building was rededicated June 7, 1964. These upgrades cost $115,000 at the time.
The site has provided many other uses over the years also serving as a kindergarten school, the first library, a church and a meeting place.
The old State Road library at Memorial Park was transformed into the current city hall in 2014. The old city hall was vacated because it was plagued with various costly issues, city officials have said. It has been estimated to cost more than $2 million to refurbish the building.
Residents and city officials alike were sad to see the building go, gathering to watch much of the demolition July 11. The site has since been cleared, regraded and back-filled with soil excavated from the Cedar Estates retention basin project and grass planted.
Ward 3 Councilman Dan Langshaw, who also serves on the North Royalton Historical Society, spent quite a bit of time there with his council colleagues over the years. When walking the halls after hours to pick up his council mail, he would often stop to take a moment to study paintings of past mayors and wonder what they would think of the job council was doing.
“I believe the old city hall was a beautiful testament to the resourcefulness of the leadership of our city over the years with it being a school house, police station, fire station and city hall. We, as a city, got as much use out of that building as we could. I have very fond memories of it and its history will not die, it will continue on through us and the interesting stories we as a community have about it, which will make it last forever,” he said.
Darlene Thomas, the executive assistant to each mayor dating back to Lucille M. Heasley, spent probably more time there than anyone having worked in that building for 40 years.
“Working in the old city hall for as many years as I did, it was bittersweet to leave. Yes, it was a workplace, but it was like a second home to me. I have a memory full of good times in that building,” she said. “If I had to choose one thing I miss the most, it would be the great view of our city.”
Naturally things change, landscapes evolve and this will definitely be the case for the City Green over next year as the city begins a new chapter in history for that site.
Concepts are currently being developed by Brandstetter Carroll, the architectural firm that designed the current city hall. The firm is drawing up plans for a two-level, seasonal pavilion that will rest in the same footprint as the former city hall and overlook the great view Thomas mentions to the south.
This project, which also tentatively includes plans for an electronic sign for the City Green and a brick and wrought-iron fence for the North Royalton Cemetery, are likely being combined into a promissory note up to $1 million.
The City Green resides in Ward 4 Councilman Paul Marnecheck’s ward and he has been quoted as saying that whatever is constructed in old city hall’s place must honor history.
“The old city hall was something that generations have identified as the center of town they grew up in, so we have an enormous sense of responsibility that whatever we put in its place,” he said the day it was demolished, “we make sure one day it’s going to have that same special feel.”
For 80 years the building stood as a landmark in the city.
But even prior to this, the City Green housed the two original town halls.
According to a sesquicentennial pamphlet, the very first town hall was built out of logs by Knight Sprague at a cost of $78, a figure quoted by the late Mayor Lester Edgerton, in 1827. The log hall was replaced with a two-story building in 1870 at a cost of just under $3,000 using bricks made right here in North Royalton, and the first high school classes were held here.
When Edgerton became mayor in 1932, a contract was authorized to build the basement of what we all know as the old city hall, because the two-story hall built in 1870 had been condemned 35 years earlier but continued to be used.
In 1932 when the city was performing excavation work, a wall collapsed, necessitating the reconstruction of the entire structure. A town hall meeting had just been hosted there the night before the collapse. The new basement was completed in 1933 and the center portion of the old city hall building was completed in 1937 at a cost of $15,000.
The first floor of the north wing, which originally housed the fire station and would later become the mayor’s office, was paid for by a bond issue of $25,000 and was added in 1948.
The second floor, which eventually became city council’s caucus room, and the southern wing, which initially served as the police department and later housed finance, were added and the building was rededicated June 7, 1964. These upgrades cost $115,000 at the time.
The site has provided many other uses over the years also serving as a kindergarten school, the first library, a church and a meeting place.
The old State Road library at Memorial Park was transformed into the current city hall in 2014. The old city hall was vacated because it was plagued with various costly issues, city officials have said. It has been estimated to cost more than $2 million to refurbish the building.
Residents and city officials alike were sad to see the building go, gathering to watch much of the demolition July 11. The site has since been cleared, regraded and back-filled with soil excavated from the Cedar Estates retention basin project and grass planted.
Ward 3 Councilman Dan Langshaw, who also serves on the North Royalton Historical Society, spent quite a bit of time there with his council colleagues over the years. When walking the halls after hours to pick up his council mail, he would often stop to take a moment to study paintings of past mayors and wonder what they would think of the job council was doing.
“I believe the old city hall was a beautiful testament to the resourcefulness of the leadership of our city over the years with it being a school house, police station, fire station and city hall. We, as a city, got as much use out of that building as we could. I have very fond memories of it and its history will not die, it will continue on through us and the interesting stories we as a community have about it, which will make it last forever,” he said.
Darlene Thomas, the executive assistant to each mayor dating back to Lucille M. Heasley, spent probably more time there than anyone having worked in that building for 40 years.
“Working in the old city hall for as many years as I did, it was bittersweet to leave. Yes, it was a workplace, but it was like a second home to me. I have a memory full of good times in that building,” she said. “If I had to choose one thing I miss the most, it would be the great view of our city.”
Naturally things change, landscapes evolve and this will definitely be the case for the City Green over next year as the city begins a new chapter in history for that site.
Concepts are currently being developed by Brandstetter Carroll, the architectural firm that designed the current city hall. The firm is drawing up plans for a two-level, seasonal pavilion that will rest in the same footprint as the former city hall and overlook the great view Thomas mentions to the south.
This project, which also tentatively includes plans for an electronic sign for the City Green and a brick and wrought-iron fence for the North Royalton Cemetery, are likely being combined into a promissory note up to $1 million.
The City Green resides in Ward 4 Councilman Paul Marnecheck’s ward and he has been quoted as saying that whatever is constructed in old city hall’s place must honor history.
“The old city hall was something that generations have identified as the center of town they grew up in, so we have an enormous sense of responsibility that whatever we put in its place,” he said the day it was demolished, “we make sure one day it’s going to have that same special feel.”