Town Hall

For more information on specific halls, see under the names of specific towns or cities - e.g. Pretoria Town Hall or Diepkloof Community Hall.

Meaning of the terms city hall and town hall

The term "town hall" is the most common one, often applied without regard to whether the building serves or served a town or a city.

In the past and today in South African local government, a city hall, town hall, or municipal building all referred to the chief administrative building of a city, town or other municipality. Today civic centre is also quite common. They all usually house the city or town council, its associated departments, and their employees and functions as the base of the mayor of a city or town.

Described by the Oxford English Dictionary as a "large hall used for the transaction of the public business of a town, the holding of a court of justice, assemblies, entertainments, etc.; the great hall of the town-house or municipal building; now very commonly applied to the whole building"

Architecture

As symbols of local government, city and town halls have distinctive architecture, and the buildings may have great historical significance. Notable are the city halls built under the British rule in the late 19th century, many of them designed by prominent architects.

Use as venue

By convention, until the mid 19th-century, a single large open chamber (or 'hall') formed an integral part of the building housing the council. The hall may be used for council meetings and other significant events. This large chamber, the 'town hall', (and its later variant city hall or even municipal hall) has become synonymous with the whole building, and with the administrative body housed in it. The terms 'council chambers', 'municipal building' or variants may be used locally in preference to 'town hall' if no such large hall is present within the building.

The local government may endeavour to use the town hall building to promote and enhance the quality of life of the community. In many cases, town halls serve not only as buildings for government functions, but also have facilities for various civic and cultural activities. These may include art shows, stage performances, exhibits and festivals. Modern town halls or civic centres are often designed with a great variety and flexibility of purpose in mind.

For more of this see under the names of specific towns or cities - e.g. Pretoria Town Hall.

Municipal hall and community hall

This is a special category of hall, referring to community halls built by urban municipalities, often in the black townships surrounding the town or city, in order to provide facilties for munuicipal activities (payments, clinics, meetings) and as venues for social and artisitic events. Under the Apartheid government these were particularly importnat since they made it possible to seperate black and white (European and Non-European) audiences from using the same facilities, in accordance with the apartheid regulations. Many Black theatre event took place in these halls, but of course this meant the authroities could exert control on the content of the work being presented.

For more of this see under the names of specific townships or municipalities.

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