Ware Town Hall facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Ware Town Hall
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Ware Town Hall
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 Location in Massachusetts
Location in the United States
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| Location | Ware, Massachusetts |
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| Built | 1885 |
| Architect | Hartwell and Richardson; Et al. |
| Architectural style | Romanesque |
| NRHP reference No. | 86001403 |
| Added to NRHP | June 26, 1986 |
The Ware Town Hall is a really old and important building in Ware, Massachusetts. It's where the town's leaders meet and make decisions about the community. This beautiful building was built in 1885. It shows off a cool style called Romanesque Revival architecture, which means it looks a bit like old Roman buildings. The town hall was made bigger in 1904 and 1935, and it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986 because it's so special and historically important.
About Ware Town Hall
What Does It Look Like?
The Ware Town Hall is in the middle of town, right where Main Street and West Street meet. It's shaped like a square and is made from red bricks with red sandstone details. The building has a tall, sloped roof and a cool tower on one side.
The tower is square and has a pointy roof on top. The main entrance, where people usually go in, is a big round arch in the middle of the Main Street side. There's also another entrance on the lower level of the west side, which faces West Street. The windows on the sides are also shaped with round arches.
Inside, the main floor has a big room that can be used for shows and events. The town offices, where people work on town business, are located in the basement.
A Look Back in Time
Long ago, when Ware was first settled, town meetings were held in a special building called a meeting house. This was in the older part of town, known as Ware Center. But as the town grew, especially with factories in the early 1800s, a new town center developed.
The very first town hall was built in 1847, but sadly, it burned down in 1860. For a while after that, town meetings were held in a place called the Music Hall on Bank Street.
The current Ware Town Hall was finished in 1886. It was designed by a famous company from Boston called Hartwell & Richardson. They were known for their designs that looked like the Richardsonian Romanesque style, which is a type of Romanesque Revival architecture.
This same company also designed the first addition to the building in 1904. This was needed partly because of new safety rules about how many exits a building should have, especially since the main room was used for performances. The town hall was made even bigger in 1935, with another design that matched the original style, created by a local architect named Thomas Madigan.
