Andover Town Hall is the historic

town hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

Andover, Massachusetts Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was Settler, settled in 1642 and incorporated in 1646."Andover" in ''Encyclopedia Britannica, The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th ed. ...

. It is located at 20 Main Street, between Park and Barnard Streets. The story Romanesque Revival red brick building was constructed in 1858, not long after the separation of

North Andover North Andover is a New England town, town in Essex County, Massachusetts, Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 30,915. History Native Americans in the United States, Native ...

. It was designed by Boston architect Theodore Voelkers and built by local builders Abbott & Clement. The building design echoed that of the mills that dotted the town. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1982.

Description and history

Andover Town Hall is located near the central intersection of Andover's main business district, on the east side of Main Street (

Massachusetts Route 28 Route 28 is a nominally south–north state highway in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, running from the town of Eastham, Massachusetts, Eastham via Boston, Massachusetts, Boston to the New Hampshire state line in Methuen, Massachusetts, M ...

) between Park and Barnard Streets. It is a -story brick structure, with a front-facing gable roof and Romanesque Revival styling. Its main facade (facing west) is divided into three bays, each set in a panel with a round-arch top. The entrance is in the center bay, recessed within a round-arch opening and sheltered by a canopy with balcony. Above is a tripartite round-arch window, a style replicated on the second-level windows on the front and sides. On the ground floor the entrance is flanked by wider arches which contain three-part storefronts with doors flanked by windows. The interior of the building houses town offices; its upper levels original housed a large ballroom, which was divided horizontally and vertically to provide additional office space in the 1920s. The town hall was built in response to the separation of

in 1855, resulting in the loss of Andover's original town center. Following the separation, early town meetings were held in a local furniture store. Construction of this building was proposed in 1856, and the building was completed two years later. Its design, by Theodore Voelkers, an architect known for his mill designs, echoes those structures that were the source of the area's prosperity.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts City and town halls on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Government buildings completed in 1858 Buildings and structures in Andover, Massachusetts Town halls in Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Andover, Massachusetts 1858 establishments in Massachusetts

Description and history

See also

References