The New Glasgow Town Hall is in the heart of the downtown and is the centre of municipal operations and location of all Town Council meetings. Situated at 111 Provost Street, this municipally designated heritage site houses offices for the Mayor, CAO, Corporate Services (Finance) and Marketing & Communications. Council Chambers is located on the second floor as well as the Committee Room, which is used for numerous committee meetings. The Town Hall is also host to civic receptions and special events throughout the year, providing a backdrop that is imbued with history. The main office is where much of the front-end business of the municipality takes place; residents can inquire in-person about municipal services, by-laws, policies, taxes or transact their water or tax bills.
This building, erected in 1884, was the first of the new national series built in Nova Scotia and was constructed when Adam Carr Bell was the town’s first mayor. It was commissioned by Canada’s first Prime Minister, Sir John A. MacDonald, as one of a series of Post Offices and Custom Houses to be built across Canada. The post office project established 78 buildings across the nation, each becoming the physical cornerstone of their communities.
Thomas Fuller, Canada’s chief architect, designed this building. The “Fuller style”, which came to be synonymous with adjectives like grand, impressive and dominating, is very much on display in the New Glasgow building.Builder Donald Grant was at the peak of his career when he built the former New Glasgow Post Office and is known to have constructed numerous churches across Nova Scotia.
The Town Hall is constructed of red and beige sandstone and ironstone. It is a mixture of Second Empire and Romanesque architectural styles. Until about 1960, this building operated as the Town’s Post Office and Customs Office and for a short time, the courthouse. The Town of New Glasgow bought the building after the old Town Hall was severely damaged by fire in 1957. The New Glasgow Town Hall remains the most statuesque building in the Downtown core.