History:
"New City Hall"
Marshfield1921
History Of Building
Marshfield's(Coos Bay) new $75,000 city hall will rank with many municipal buildings in Oregon in beauty of architecture suitability for the needs of the city. In it's two stories and basement are found a large council chamber with balcony, roomy offices for all the city's officials, police station with five concrete cells & large quarters for the fire department.
The building constructed of concrete with walls of 10 & 12 inches in thickness, will
cost in the neighborhood of $60,000. The sum of $11,000 was paid for the site & the balance of the money raised by the $75,000 bond issue will be spent for furnishings.
The building of a Greek architecture with pleasing simplicity of line. The Greek temple effect is especially marked in the entrance, set forward a little flanked on either side by rounded columns surrounded by a modified Greek triangular frontal topped in turn by a seal and flag pole.At each end of the front of the building is a part
set forward, surmounted with a frontal similar to that of the entrance, upheld by two pair of square columns with Dorie capitals & plinths similar to those of the round
entrance columns. When completed the council chamber is 30 by 60 feet in size & it's height is a full two stories of the building. The end room next to 4th street is almost filled with cathedral glass windows.The section set aside for the council is raised & set off from the remainder of the room by a railing.A large gallery extends across the other end of the room. The Police Station adjoins the rest room, in the southeast corner of the building,connected by a door with the police office,are the cell rooms.On one level above the men's cells are two cells for women.These cells are concrete throughout except for the iron bars of the doors & windows. Each cell is fitted with a shower. The firemen are assigned a large bedroom,a dormitory with a buin lockers for the men, a large clubroom, showers & toilet rooms on the south side of the building. Brass poles from the dormitory & the clubroom will accelerate the passage of the firemen to the apparatus room on the first floor.
In the historical records & daily papers of the 1920's, very little was made of the
construction of the(then new) City Hall, though it was civic undertaking & mammoth
expenditure, with the $75,000 price tag in 1923' equal to over a 2 million $ today!
The "Old City Hall" has been remodeled on the second floor for Banquets , Proms,
Weddings, Receptions & Luncheons. One room can be used for dinner parties
and there is the "Ballroom" for dancing. A Live-Band or DJ can give you the music for your great event.