The Town Hall of Colombo (, ) is the headquarters of the

Colombo Municipal Council The Colombo Municipal Council is the municipal governing body of Colombo, the largest city and financial centre in Sri Lanka. It consists of a directly elected executive Mayor of Colombo, and elected 119 municipal councilors. The council was f ...

and the office of the

mayor of Colombo The Mayor of Colombo is the elected head of the Colombo Municipal Council. The post was created in 1866 when the Colombo Municipal Council was established by the Legislative Council of Ceylon. The mayor is assisted by the deputy mayor and a Munic ...

. Built in front of the

Viharamahadevi Park Viharamahadevi Park (; formerly Victoria Park, ) is a public park located in Cinnamon Gardens, in Colombo, situated in front of the colonial-era Town Hall, Colombo, Town Hall in Sri Lanka. It was built by the British colonial administration and is ...

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

, Sri Lanka, it is the meeting place for the elected municipal council. In 1921 renowned Scottish town planner Professor Patrick Geddes recommended that the Council should construct a large central and dignified municipal building to house the council, a public reception hall, the mayor's office and a public library. The need for the Colombo Public Library was addressed by a philanthropic donation of a building by Dr. W. Arthur Silva in 1925. This building, Sirinivasa, is now the

official residence An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless of whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority (either their own or that of th ...

of the mayor. In 1922 the Colombo Municipal Council held an international architectural design competition and in November that year of the 32 plans submitted, the winning design was drawn by S. J. Edwards, of the architectural firm Ralph Booty & Co. In awarding the prize the Government Architect of the Ceylon Public Works Department, Austin Woodeson, wrote: The foundation stone for the town hall was laid on 24 May 1924, by the

Mayor of Colombo The Mayor of Colombo is the elected head of the Colombo Municipal Council. The post was created in 1866 when the Colombo Municipal Council was established by the Legislative Council of Ceylon. The mayor is assisted by the deputy mayor and a Munic ...

, Thomas Reid, CCS. The construction of the building was undertaken by A. A. Gammon & Co and four years later on 9 August 1928 it was formally opened by the

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Sir Herbert Stanley KCMG. The cost of the new town hall was met largely by revenue generated by the Council, without taking out any loans from the central government and as a result, for years Municipal finances were depleted.

Architectural design

Edwards' design draws heavily from L'Enfant's

neoclassical style Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassici ...

Capitol Building in Washington, D. C. The Council chamber is located in the centre of the block on the first floor surmounted by a dome. On either side and on the longitudinal axis is an open courtyard surrounded on each floor by the different departments of Council. The main entrance and staircase hall is situated at the centre of the front façade, facing directly onto

, with the two staff entrances being at the two remote corners of the façade in the rear. There are six

corinthian columns The Corinthian order (, ''Korinthiakós rythmós''; ) is the last developed and most ornate of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order, which was the earliest, ...

in the main porch, six on either side to the front and ten columns on either side of the building. The columns are each in height. The building is in length and in width and the total height of the building equals its width. Although many alterations have been made to the original design, the building still possesses a few characteristics that have not been touched by modern renovations. The council chamber and its furniture, including the original lamps and lamp bases are still intact. All the doors and windows of the building are original, as well as the ornamental lamps on the staircase leading to the second floor from the lobby.

References

External links

* {{Colombo, state=collapsed Buildings and structures in Colombo City and town halls in Sri Lanka Colombo Municipal Council British colonial architecture in Sri Lanka 1927 establishments in Ceylon