The building is an impressive architectural gem in the community. One can imagine that when first constructed in 1884, the post office and customs house would have been a focus of the community's attention in downtown New Glasgow.
The town's website describes the current and past uses of the building as well as some of its history. The site is located at: http://www.town.newglasgow.ns.ca/townhall and provides the following text:
"The New Glasgow Town Hall is in the heart of the downtown and is the centre of municipal operations and location of all Town Council meetings. Situated at 111 Provost Street, this municipally designated heritage site houses offices for the Mayor, CAO, Corporate Services (Finance) and Marketing & Communications. Council Chambers is located on the second floor as well as the Committee Room, which is used for numerous committee meetings. The Town Hall is also host to civic receptions and special events throughout the year, providing a backdrop that is imbued with history. The main office is where much of the front-end business of the municipality takes place; residents can inquire in-person about municipal services, by-laws, policies, taxes or transact their water or tax bills.
This building, erected in 1884, was the first of the new national series built in Nova Scotia and was constructed when Adam Carr Bell was the town’s first mayor. It was commissioned by Canada’s first Prime Minister, Sir John A. MacDonald, as one of a series of Post Offices and Custom Houses to be built across Canada. The post office project established 78 buildings across the nation, each becoming the physical cornerstone of their communities.
Thomas Fuller, Canada’s chief architect, designed this building. The “Fuller style”, which came to by synonymous with adjectives like grand, impressive and dominating, is very much on display in the New Glasgow building.Builder Donald Grant was at the peak of his career when he built the former New Glasgow post office and is known to have constructed numerous churches across Nova Scotia.
The Town Hall is constructed of red and beige sandstone and ironstone. It is a mixture of Second Empire and Romanesque architectural styles. Until about 1960, this building operated as the Town’s Post Office and Customs Office and for a short time, the courthouse. The Town of New Glasgow bought the building after the old Town Hall was severely damaged by fire in 1957. The New Glasgow Town Hall remains the most statuesque building in the Downtown core."
Founded by Scottish settlers in 1784, the town was named after Glasgow, Scotland. The town was once a thriving shipbuilding centre, but is now the retail service centre for the Pictou County region.
9,455 residents call this beautiful riverside town located in northern Nova Scotia home. The community serves as the commercial-service centre for the region of Pictou County with a population of 46,513. Key strategies of the town are:
• investment in infrastructure,
• commercial development,
• environmental stewardship,
• downtown revitalization,
• cultural,
• diversity,
• strategic partnerships and regional cooperation,
• health and safety,
• the creative economy and
• healthy lifestyles.