page_title: Halifax City Hall
section_title: The early years: 1890 to 1900
hierarchical_section_title: Halifax City Hall / History / The early years: 1890 to 1900
caption_attribution_description: English: Horsemen on the Grand Parade with Halifax City Hall in the background. Reference no.: Tom Connors NSARM accession 1987-218 no. 720
context_page_description: Halifax City Hall is the home of municipal government in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Designed by architect Edward Elliot and constructed for the City of Halifax between 1887 and 1890, it is one of the oldest and largest public buildings in Nova Scotia. The property was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1997.
  Halifax City Hall was opened to Council and the public in 1890 replacing offices in the old court house on the Halifax waterfront. City Hall was chosen to become the seat of the newly created Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996 and is now home to Halifax Regional Council as well as various municipal offices.
context_section_description: City Hall had five primary entrances in 1890. The grand entrance off of Grand Parade was the main public entrance and brought visitors onto the second floor. There were also entrances off of Argyle Street to the second floor, as well as three entrances to the first floor. One door allowed access to the building from the dry moat between the building and Grand Parade. Two doors facing Duke Street provided access to the police station that was located in the first floor until the late 1940s.
  The first floor originally contained the police court, policemen's rooms, office of Chief of Police, and jail cells. It was from these jail cells that Harry Houdini escaped in 1896, just six years after City Hall opened.
  The main or second floor contained the auditor's office, the Board of Works, the City Clerk, the office of the Mayor, the Collector, the City Engineer, and the Treasurer. The third floor was home to the Council Chamber and the Citizens Free Library, as well as the offices of the Inspector of Licenses, the Collector of Rents and Licenses, the Foreman of Streets, and the Foreman of Water Works.
  The fourth floor held a caretaker's apartment, and a space variously described as a ball room, a gallery, and a museum, though the space may simply not have been completed when the building was opened.
caption: Horsemen on the Grand Parade, 1887.
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