cleveland has a grand and interesting early city hall history.
thx to coolcleveland blog:
Cleveland City Hall
Cleveland’s current City Hall was developed as part of the 1903 Group Plan of governmental buildings built along the various Malls tucked in between East Sixth and Ontario Avenue. City Hall was placed in perfect symmetry with the county courthouse at the north end of the Mall. Designed by J. Milton Dyer, the city hall has an arcaded ground story, a 2-story Tuscan colonnade, and a central entrance bay characteristic of the Beaux-Arts style.
The Great Hall gave that imposing entrance to a public building that is so lacking anymore.
the “progressive mayors” of Cleveland and perhaps one of the most famous Mayor’s in the U.S., Tom Johnson never worked in the current City Hall. Prior to the this facility, the City of Cleveland in 1875 started leasing the Case Block Building, then located on the north corner of East Third and Superior until the new City Hall was dedicated on July 4th, 1916. However, the Case Block was an impressive building in its own right.
But the most amazing City Hall was the one never built. In 1895 the voters of Cleveland approved a Beaux Arts designed building to be built on the northern quadrants of Public Square. The most eloquent component of its design was the enormous arch spanning over Ontario Avenue for street cars to pass through safely. It was a most amazing and jaw-dropping design.
Unfortunately, after one week of the official ground-breaking the protests from numerous Clevelanders (after voting approval on the project), it was decided not to continue and Cleveland had to wait another twenty years before it received a new City Hall.