Eugene, Oregon
From 1914 through 1963, the former Eugene High School building served as the city hall. The building was razed...
... and a Chase bank was built on the lot:
The new city lasted from 1964 until 2015, when it was deemed unsafe and inadequate for the current needs of the city government
"As Eugene grew in population and as building codes changed, it became obvious that City Hall did not meet the needs of local government. The 84,000 square foot building had become too small to house the many government departments and personnel, and city planners acquired office space in various nearby locations. City Hall relied upon steam heat provided by the Eugene Water and Electric Board, and when EWEB announced that it would no longer supply steam to downtown Eugene, the building's energy inefficiencies became obvious. Most troublesome to engineers, however, was that the building would not be structurally sound in an earthquake and could collapse into the lower-level parking area. Gradually, all city offices were moved, and the building was abandoned in 2012."
City Hall demolished, 2015
Rowell Brokaw architects; completion anticipated, 2016
Eureka, California
Built, 1904 -- Destroyed, 1960
J.W. Rowell, architect
(Click the image for a LIGHTBOX view)
New City Hall
Plaque and cornerstone of old city hall, dedicated in 2012
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Built, 1888 -- Destroyed, 1969
Inside, years of deferred maintenance furthered the perception of old City Hall as a piece of obsolete junk that fire inspectors had once condemned.
“It’s an old trick,” said Dennis Morrow, pastor of Sts. Peter and Paul parish and the Grand Rapids Diocese archivist. “They weren’t doing anything to fix City Hall. If the toilet broke, they put up an ‘out-of-order’ sign and let it stay there for weeks. When people complained, they’d say ‘Yeah, we need a new building.’"
Demolition in 1969
New Grand Rapids city hall with Alexander Calder sculpture
Petaluma, California
Built, 1886 -- Destroyed to make way for a parking lot, 1955
(Click the image for a LIGHTBOX view)
Current Petaluma City Hall
San Jose, California
Built, 1889 -- Destroyed, 1961
City Hall designed by Theodore Lenzen, 1889
(Click the image for a LIGHTBOX view)
Demolition in 1958
The old city hall was replaced by this new structure in 1958, which in turn was replaced in 2005 by the followiung building
Newest city hall, designed by Richard Meier, at a cost of $382 million (according to some sources, the most costly city hall ever built in America)
San Rafael, Clifornia
Built, 1909 -- Destroyed, 1966
This image is a screen capture from Google Earth. The city of San Rafael has no online pictures of its own city hall.
Here is a sad example from Winnipeg, Canada. In 1962, in spite of opposition, this building......
... was demolished and replaced with this:
