page_title: Alexandria City Hall
section_title: Exterior
hierarchical_section_title: Alexandria City Hall / Architecture / Exterior
caption_attribution_description: English: Alexandria City Hall, Virginia, USA
context_page_description: The Alexandria City Hall also known as the Alexandria Market House & City Hall, in Alexandria, Virginia, is a building built in 1871 and designed by Adolph Cluss. It was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1984. The site was originally a market from 1749 and courthouse from 1752. A new building was constructed in 1817 but after an extensive fire in 1871 it was rebuilt as a replica of the former building.
context_section_description: In designing the building, Cluss paid particular attention to the strength and durability of the framework. Alexandria City Hall consists of masonry bearing walls with cast-iron columns, supporting the wood ceiling and floor joists. It is constructed in the Second Empire style, incorporating three-dimensional massing, mansard roofs, and superimposed orders. The window types and sizes and decor are largely symmetrical. The majority of the building is laid out in two stories, although there are four three-story corner pavilions and a central four-story pavilion on the north facade. The north facade on Cameron street is approximately 238 feet (73 m) long, with a breadth of 40 feet (12 m). Six bays divide the two-story sections and there were two entry doors to the Masonic Lodge. The top floors of the three-story pavilions have semi-circular windows and have hip roofs, two of which are gabled. The central pavilion is crowned by a grouping of three mansard roofs, whilst the two-story sections of the building have gabled roofs, sheathed in slate with galvanized iron cornices. The central pavilion originally had slate with wood cornices and a tin capping but following restoration work in the 1960s these were resheathed and the wood and tin was replaced with iron and copper respectively. 
  The central clock tower, unlike the rest of the roofing, is still in the original diamond pattern slate, crowned by a gold leaf finial and weather vane. It is a replica of the original 1817 market steeple and is constructed in the Georgian architectural style. The tower has a square rusticated brick base and is structured in three tiers, with the main entry door on the west facade. An inscription on the tower indicates that it was destroyed by a fire on May 19, 1871, and rebuilt in 1872. The tower is supported by two cast-iron columns with Corinthian capitals; above the clock is a smaller octagonal tier with eight narrow windows, enclosed by a wooden balustrade. The tower is crowned by a spire and a gilded weather vane. The west facade of Alexandria City Hall is approximately 148 feet (45 m) long and consists of two-story section split with two three-story pavilions which are divided into three bays by four three-story brick piers.
  The east facade of the hall is located on North Fairfax Street and is the same length as the west at 148 feet (45 m); it is 40 feet (12 m) deep. It has a two-story section, divided into nine bays by brick pilasters, and is terminated on both ends by three-story pavilions which are three bays wide and have three-story corner piers. Some of the pilasters originally contained stove flues and were topped by brick chimneys, but these no longer exist. There is a door at the southern end of the facade which was once the main entrance of old police station.  The door at the northern end led into the former Court House.
  In 1967, the Gadsby Commercial Urban Renewal Project brought about the reorientation of the City Hall towards the southern facade with the new entrance facing King Street and Market Square. It is characterized by an open, landscaped plaza with a central fountain.
caption: The west facade
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