Description of Historic Place

The Former Port Perry Town Hall is a three-storey brick building of Italianate design, built in 1873. It is prominently located at the corner of a major intersection in the town of Port Perry. The formal recognition consists of the building on its legal property at the time of designation.

Heritage Value

The Former Port Perry Town Hall was designated a national historic site in 1984 because: it is a particularly fine example of the municipal meeting hall which served as a community's political and social centre; and it is noteworthy for its commanding site and the quality of its design and interior finishes.

Constructed in 1873 following the incorporation of the Village of Port Perry and the arrival of the railway, the Town Hall reflects the community's optimistic view of its future prosperity. Like many small Ontario communities, Port Perry built a multi-purpose building to serve a variety of community purposes. The simply decorated lower hall was used for village council meetings. The elaborate, balconied opera house on the second storey became the community's social centre. Although the building is no longer used for municipal offices, it continues to function as a community centre and theatre.

The Town Hall is prominently sited at a major intersection, with its corner tower serving as a landmark in the Port Perry commercial district. Its Italianate design was a popular choice for civic buildings built in Ontario during the mid-19th century.

Source: Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, Minute, November 1984.

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements which express the heritage value of the Former Port Perry Town Hall include:
- its vernacular Italianate design, evident in its Venetian Italianate references including the tall, narrow, round-headed window and door openings, the Palladian window, the decorative brick detailing along the frieze and outlining the tower, the broad expanses of undecorated brick wall, the corner tower with its broad eaves, and the use of a parapet to mask the profile of the low-pitched roof;
- the elaborate, wooden tracery of the windows and transoms;
- its surviving, original interior detailing;
- remnants of its original multipurpose plan, with a meeting hall on the ground floor and an auditorium above;
- its siting at a major intersection in the community.