{{Short description|Seat of the City of Hobart government}} {{Distinguish|Hobart City Hall}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}} {{Infobox building | name = Hobart Town Hall | native_name = | former_names = | alternate_names = | image = Hobart_Town_Hall.jpg | image_alt = | image_caption = Front facade. | pushpin_map = | pushpin_map_alt = | map_caption = | altitude = | building_type = | architectural_style = [[Neo-Renaissance]] | structural_system = | cost = | ren_cost = | location = [[Hobart]], [[Tasmania]], [[Australia]] | coordinates = {{coord|-42.8825|147.3309|type:landmark_region:AU|display=inline,title}} | owner = Hobart City Council | construction_start_date = 1864 | completion_date = 1866 | inauguration_date = | renovation_date = | height = | diameter = | other_dimensions = | floor_count = | floor_area = | architect = [[Henry Hunter (architect)|Henry Hunter]] | ren_architect = | ren_awards = | references = <ref name=opendoors>{{cite web|title=Open Doors - Hobart Town Hall|url=http://www.heritage.tas.gov.au/od_town_hall.html|publisher=Heritage Tasmania|accessdate=5 Feb 2014}}</ref> | embedded = }}
'''Hobart Town Hall''' is a landmark sandstone building which serves as seat of the [[City of Hobart]] [[Local government in Australia|local government area]], hosting council meetings as well as acting as public auditorium that can be hired from the council.<ref>{{cite web|title=Town Hall|url=http://www.hobartcity.com.au/Council/Bookings/Hobart_Town_Hall|publisher=Hobart City Council|accessdate=5 Feb 2014}}</ref> It is also open to periodic public tours, featuring its ornate Victorian auditorium and the Town Hall organ which has been in use since 1870.<ref name="opendoors" />
==History== [[File:Plan of Hobart Town Hall signed by the architect Henry Hunter. nd (15200174801).jpg|thumb|Henry Hunter's plans for Hobart Town Hall]] [[File:Hobart Town Hall repairs to portico.jpg|left|thumb|Hobart Town Hall undergoing repairs to its portico in 1925]] Construction of the town hall was begun in 1864, with the foundation stone laid on April 14, which was declared a public holiday and celebrated by a parade. It was completed two years later in September 1866, which was celebrated by another public holiday and a gala ball.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Paine|first1=Michelle|title=Hobart Town Hall foundation stone a 150-year blast from the past|url=http://www.themercury.com.au/news/tasmania/hobart-town-hall-foundation-stone-a-150year-blast-from-the-past/story-fnj4f7k1-1226884341933|accessdate=30 July 2014|publisher=The Mercury|date=15 April 2014}}</ref> The design by Henry Hunter<ref name="opendoors" /> was somewhat inspired by the [[Palazzo Farnese]] in Rome.<ref>{{cite web|title=Hobart Town Hall|url=http://www.liveguide.com.au/Venues/5447/Hobart_City_Hall|publisher=[[Lonely Planet]]|accessdate=5 Feb 2014}}</ref> At the time of construction, it was designed to house the City of Hobart's council chambers, as well as police offices, the municipal court and the [[State Library of Tasmania]].<ref name="opendoors" /> These remained in use for nearly fifty years after the town hall was opened.<ref>{{cite news|title=Hobart's Town Hall gaol cells|url=http://www.abc.net.au/local/photos/2013/12/10/3906902.htm|newspaper=ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)}}</ref> It, along with [[Franklin Square (Hobart)|Franklin Square]], were built on the site of the former [[Old Government House, Hobart|government house]] which had been demolished upon completion of the present [[Government House, Hobart|government house]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Somerville|first=J|title=Government Houses in Hobart Town|url=http://eprints.utas.edu.au/13475/1/1944__Somerville_Government_houses.pdf|publisher=Royal Society of Tasmania|accessdate=5 Feb 2014}}</ref>
The City of Hobart organ, built by [[J. W. Walker]] of London, and reckoned to be the second finest in Australia,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article8867894 |title=The Town Hall Organ |newspaper=[[The Mercury (Hobart)]] |volume=XVI |issue=2882 |location=Tasmania, Australia |date=18 March 1870 |accessdate=10 December 2024 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> was opened on 17 March 1870 in a concert by [[F. A. Packer]], Albert Alexander RAM, and John Packer.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article232870516 |title=Opening of the Town Hall Organ |newspaper=[[The Tasmanian Times]] |volume=VI |issue=799 |location=Tasmania, Australia |date=18 March 1870 |access-date=10 December 2024 |page=2 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
By 1925 the state of the hall's prominent [[portico]] had degenerated to the point where it was declared unsafe and major restoration work had to be undertaken.<ref>{{cite news|title=Hobart Town Hall - State of the Portico|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article29113903|accessdate=5 Feb 2014|newspaper=The Mercury|date=September 22, 1925}}</ref>
The building's well-known [[chandelier]]s were installed in the Town Hall's [[ballroom]] by former Lord Mayor [[Doone Kennedy]].<ref name=mercury>{{cite news|title=A great loss to us all as charismatic former Hobart lord mayor Doone Kennedy dies after short illness |url=http://www.themercury.com.au/news/tasmania/a-great-loss-to-us-all-as-charismatic-former-hobart-lord-mayor-doone-kennedy-dies-after-short-illness/story-fnj4f7k1-1227042554193 |work=[[The Mercury (Hobart)]] |date=2014-08-31 |accessdate=2014-10-02}}</ref><ref name=mercury2>{{cite news|first=Anne |last=Mather |title=Hobart's only female lord mayor Doone Kennedy leaves her mark on city |url=http://www.themercury.com.au/news/tasmania/hobarts-only-female-lord-mayor-doone-kennedy-leaves-her-mark-on-city/story-fnj4f7k1-1227043076614 |work=[[The Mercury (Hobart)]] |date=2014-09-01 |accessdate=2014-10-02}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category|Hobart Town Hall}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20140221231254/http://www.electoral.tas.gov.au/pages/Education/Assets/galleria/HobartTownHall.html Historic images of the Town Hall on the Tasmanian Electoral Commission website]
{{Hobart landmarks |state=expanded}} {{Authority control}}
[[Category:Landmarks in Hobart]] [[Category:Henry Hunter buildings]] [[Category:Town halls in Tasmania]] [[Category:Tasmanian Heritage Register]] [[Category:Macquarie Street, Hobart]] [[Category:Renaissance Revival architecture in Australia]]