Belleville City Hall

• Location: Belleville, Ontario, Canada

• Architect: John D. Evans

• Style: High Victorian Gothic Revival

• Completed in: 1873

Belleville City Hall is located in the heart of downtown Belleville along the Moira River. Because of its strategic location where the Bay of Quinte and the Moira River meet, Belleville has long been attractive destination for many settlers.

The area present day known as Belleville began as an Indigenous settlement called Asaukhknosk, followed by a French mission. In 1789, some fifty United Empire Loyalists settled in the area. In 1816, the name of the settlement was renamed "Belleville" after Lady Arabella when her husband Lieutenant-Governor Sir Francis Gore and she visited the settlement. Belleville grew as a lumber town around the Moira River because of the nearby forests to provide timbers for its high demand in the 1800s. Gold was also discovered nearby in 1866.

In 1871, then-Mayor Holden suggested a city hall and market building with a fire bell and town clock to respond the needs from the community. The building was completed in 1873 in the style of the High Victorian Gothic Revival by the architect, John Evans and the builder, John Forin (John Forin is himself a prominent architect in the Belleville area responsible for many buildings and housings).

"Historic plaque"

The brick-limestone cladded Belleville City Hall showcases its distinctive architectural characteristics of the High Victorian Gothic Revival, including pointed arch windows, steeply gabled roofs, and the bell tower with 4-sided clock reinforced at the corners by octagonal buttresses and pinnacles.

"Pointed arch windows"

"Bell tower"

The City Hall originally housed the market area inside its first floor but it moved out to the east (at the back) of the City Hall. The market place is still active to this day.

"Market to the east of the City Hall"

References:

City of Belleville. (2021). Heritage Guide. Retrieved from https://discoverbelleville.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/COB-Heritage-Guide-1.pdf

Ontario Heritage Trust. (n.d.). Belleville City Hall. Retrieved from https://www.heritagetrust.on.ca/properties/belleville-city-hall

Wikipedia contributors. (2023, October 13). Belleville City Hall. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belleville_City_Hall