The decade of the 1860s was a time of growth and prosperity for Gloucester. The population of the town grew rapidly from fewer that 8,000 in 1850 to 12,000 by 1868, and by 1873 the town became a city. Gloucester's good fortune was based at least in part on the country’s tragedy - Union troops in the Civil War made salted fish a staple of their diets, creating a new market for Gloucester's fishing fleet. However, this growth and prosperity came at a price for the town. One hundred twenty-seven of the 1,500 Gloucester men who served in the Union Army died and 162 fishermen were lost at sea during the 1860s.

13195 copy

The History of City Hall
To meet the growing community needs and to reflect their community pride, attendees at the Town Meeting in 1866 voted to built a new Town Hall. Somes Field, a prominent site in downtown Gloucester, was chosen as the location. The new building was completed by 1867, but a fire in 1869 gutted the structure, leaving behind a ragged shell.

14770 copy


Work began immediately to rebuild on the same site, and the second building was dedicated in 1871.

18847 copy


City Hall is the most historically and architecturally important building the city owns. The handsome exterior of the building today is remarkably unchanged since 1871. It was designed by the Boston architectural firm of Gridley J.F. Bryant and Louis P. Rogers. It was a grand plan, a brick structure reflecting the design of Independence Hall in Philadelphia, with elements variously identified at French Second Empire, Italian Renaissance Revival, High Victorian Gothic and English. It rises dramatically above Gloucester, with the clock tower reaching a height of 148 feet above street level and 194 feet above sea level. Four ventilator towers, one at each corner of the building, completed the distinctive profile that continues to dominate Gloucester's skyline.