Description of Historic Place

The Hespeler Town Hall is located at 11 Tannery Street East, south of Queen Street East and north of Adam Street South, in the former Village of Hespeler, now the City of Cambridge. The two-storey brown-brick building was constructed in 1914.

This property was designated, for its historic and architectural value, by the City of Cambridge, in 2001, under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act (By-law 194-01).

Heritage Value

The Hespeler Town Hall is a prominent feature on Tannery Street East. Along with the adjacent library and other surrounding buildings they form an impressive streetscape.

The Hespeler Town Hall is representative of the social, cultural, political and economic history of the Village of Hespeler, now the City of Cambridge. It was built in 1914 and used for a number of municipal purposes, including the offices of the Mayor and Clerk, the police department and jail, assessment and taxation offices, the office for the board of health and welfare, and the town council chambers.

The Hespeler Town Hall was built in the Beaux Arts style by John Evans of the architectural firm, Evans and Fulford, of the Town of Galt and built by the Grill Brothers. This grandiose building style was popular for public and commercial buildings at the turn of the 20th century, featuring columns, pilasters and pediments.

Sources: City of Cambridge, By-law 194-01; Hespeler Town Hall Information, supplied by L. Brown, a LACAC member.

Character-Defining Elements

Character defining elements that contribute to the heritage value of the Hespeler Town Hall include its:
- prominent position on Tannery Street East
- flat roof
- tower
- large columns, grouped in pairs
- 8 over 8 windows
- pilasters and pediments surrounding doors
- decorative dentils below the cornice
- penetrating brick quoins