Southbridge Town Hall facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Southbridge Town Hall
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 Location in Massachusetts
Location in the United States
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| Location | 41 Elm St., Southbridge, Massachusetts |
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| Built | 1888 |
| Architect | Amos P. Cutting |
| Architectural style | Romanesque |
| NRHP reference No. | 87001378 |
| Added to NRHP | November 20, 1987 |
Southbridge Town Hall is a really old and important building in Southbridge, Massachusetts. You can find it at 41 Elm Street. This impressive building was built way back in 1888. It was designed to be both the town's main office building and the high school! It's special because it's the only big building left in Southbridge that shows off the cool Romanesque style of architecture. It was added to a list of important historical places, called the National Register of Historic Places, in 1987.
A Building with Two Jobs
Before this town hall was built, Southbridge had a different building that also served as both the town hall and the high school. It was getting old, so the town needed a new one. At first, they thought about building two separate places: one for the town offices and one for the high school.
However, to save money, the town decided to build just one large building instead. This new building opened in 1888. It worked as both the town hall and the high school for many years. The high school stayed there until 1927, when a new building was finally built just for students.
On the first floor of the town hall, there were classrooms for students and offices for town workers. The second floor had a big meeting space. Some parts of the inside of the building were updated in the 1970s.
What Does It Look Like?
The outside of the Southbridge Town Hall has a special look called Romanesque Revival style. This style uses big, strong stone blocks. You can also see large, rounded arches, which are a key part of this design. The bricks used for decoration have interesting textures.
The building is not perfectly even on both sides. This is called an asymmetrical design. On the left side, there is a tall, round clocktower. The main entrance has a two-story arch made of brick. Inside this big arch, there are two doorways. Each doorway has its own stone arch, held up by two columns.
When the Romanesque Revival style was popular, three buildings in Southbridge were built this way. The other two were a bank and a YMCA building. Sadly, those two buildings are no longer standing. This makes the Southbridge Town Hall the only example of this unique architectural style left in the town.
