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34-466: Pasadena City Hall is the historic city hall of Pasadena, California , United States. Completed in 1927, it combines elements of both Mediterranean Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival style architecture, and is a significant architectural example of the City Beautiful movement of the 1920s. In 1923, the people of Pasadena approved a bond measure issuing $ 3.5 million towards the development of

68-407: A debating chamber for council meetings, office space for city employees, an archive room for official documents, and some degree of fortification lest the city be attacked. The Palazzo Senatorio has been the headquarters of the municipal government of Rome since 1144, making it the oldest city hall in the world. The Cologne City Hall of 1135 is another early example. The Palazzo Pubblico of

102-442: A city, town, or other municipality . It usually houses the city or town council and at least some other arms of the local government. It also often functions as the office of the mayor (or other executive), if the relevant municipality has such an officer. In large cities, the local government is often administratively expansive, and the city hall may bear more resemblance to a municipal capitol building. By convention, until

136-519: A civic center. City Hall was to be the central element of this center. The San Francisco architecture firm of Bakewell and Brown designed City Hall, which has elements of both Mediterranean Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival style architecture. Completed on December 27, 1927 at a cost of $ 1.3 million, it measures 361 feet (110 m) by 242 feet (74 m) and rises 6 stories. There are over 235 rooms and passageways that cover over 170,000 square feet (16,000 m). The defining dome, located above

170-516: A civic town hall have become separated. Particularly in North America, "city hall" can be used as a metonym to mean municipal government , or government in general, as in the axiom "You can't fight city hall". "Town hall" tends to have less formal connotations (cf. Town meeting ). The Judge (TV series) In contrast to The People's Court , which featured actual litigants, The Judge , along with Divorce Court and Superior Court ,

204-542: A close-up of his signature. The episode proper would then begin with Franklin entering the courtroom while an off-screen narrator explains: "What you are about to see is a dramatization of an actual case in family court. Because of the emotional and sensitive nature of the issues presented here, Judge Franklin's courtroom is closed to the public. The proceedings are about to begin." Like the aforementioned courtroom dramas, episodes of The Judge involved shock value: cases that began as mundane or routine often ended up taking

238-405: A complete overhaul of the structure, including a seismic retrofit . Over the course of three years, all offices and council chambers were renovated, the facade was restored, the building was adapted to meet ADA standards, HVAC systems were replaced and modernized, and new landscaping and architectural lighting was installed. To help ensure it would withstand future earthquake activity, the building

272-422: A covered space to function as a marketplace at street level, and one or more rooms used for public or civic purposes above it. These buildings were frequently the precursors of dedicated town halls. The modern concept of the town hall developed with the rise of medieval communes . Much as a lord was based in his hall, the new councils which formed to rule the cities required a headquarters. This building needed

306-821: A great variety and flexibility of purpose in mind. In some European countries, the town hall is the venue for the declaration of Christmas Peace , such as Turku and Porvoo in Finland and Tartu in Estonia . As symbols of local government, city, and town halls have distinctive architecture, and the buildings may have great historical significance – for example the Guildhall, London . City hall buildings may also serve as cultural icons that symbolize their cities. City Hall buildings often serve citizens in accessing government functions as well as providing vital symbolic roles for their communities. In Commonwealth countries ,

340-405: A loss of life. The concrete walls had many deep cracks, and two of the stairway towers had considerable damage. There was also water damage from years of storms with little to no repair and maintenance. An effort to rehabilitate the aging building began in the late 1990s, led by Architectural Resources Group of San Francisco, California. In July 2004, the building was vacated in order to allow for

374-407: A regional strategic authority. The Oxford English Dictionary sums up the generic terms: County Council administrations in parts of England and Wales generally operate from a base in a building called, by analogy, a " county hall " or "shire hall". Conversely, cities that have subdivisions with their councils may have borough halls. Scottish local government in larger cities operates from

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408-482: A serious or unexpected turn. A drama that later became The Judge , called Municipal Court (changed to The Judge while still a local program), ran for 12 years as a local television program in Columbus, Ohio . Shield, playing Judge Franklin, won four regional Emmy Awards for his performance. In 1986, The Judge was picked up for national syndication, where it enjoyed a seven-year run. Repeats of The Judge aired on

442-613: Is a distinction between the Council House and the Town Hall , a concert and meeting venue that pre-dates it. In Sheffield , the distinction is between the Town Hall , the seat of local government, and the City Hall , a concert and ballroom venue. In Leeds , the Town Hall , built in the 1850s as a seat of local government, now functions primarily as a concert, conference, and wedding venue, many of its municipal functions having moved in 1933 to

476-726: Is made between city halls and town halls. The term is also sometimes (but more rarely) used as a name in Commonwealth countries: for example, for the City Halls of Brisbane in Australia, and of Cardiff , Norwich and Bristol in the UK. City Hall in Dublin , Ireland, is another example. City Hall in London, opened in 2002, is an exceptional case, being the seat not of a conventional municipal authority, but of

510-523: Is one of the grandest examples of the medieval era, serving as a model for 19th-century town halls such as the Rathaus, Vienna . Over centuries, the idea of civic representation along with notions of urbanism and public space evolved. Even the building form grew in size and the town hall concept expanded beyond Europe to become an established institution across the world. As the functions of government generally and municipal government in particular expanded in

544-435: Is present within the building. The local government may endeavor to use the building to promote and enhance the quality of life of the community. In many cases, "town halls" serve not only as buildings for government functions, but also have facilities for various civic and cultural activities. These may include art shows, stage performances, exhibits, and festivals. Modern town halls or "civic centres" are often designed with

578-668: The Republic of Siena and the Palazzo Vecchio of the Republic of Florence , both late-medieval town halls, date from 1297 and 1299 respectively. In each case, the large, fortified building comprises a large meeting hall and numerous administrative chambers. Both buildings are topped by tall towers, have ancient clocks against which townsfolk measured time, and have space for local archives of official documents. These features became standard for town halls across Europe. The 15th-century Brussels Town Hall , with its 96-meter (315 ft) tower,

612-525: The "City Chambers". Other names are occasionally used. The administrative headquarters of the City of London retains its Anglo-Saxon name, the Guildhall , signifying a place where taxes were paid. In a few English cities (including Birmingham , Coventry and Nottingham ) the preferred term is "Council House": this was also true in Bristol until 2012, when the building was renamed " City Hall ". In Birmingham, there

646-519: The 1995 movie "A Walk in the Clouds" to portray a Napa Valley town square. The building is in also featured in the 2005 film “Rumor Has It” directed by Rob Reiner. It has also been used as an embassy in the "Mission: Impossible" television series, and a villa in Charlie Chaplin 's Oscar-nominated 1940 film "The Great Dictator." The building also served as the city hall of fictional Pawnee, Indiana , in

680-431: The 19th and 20th centuries, the role of town and city halls became broader. Many cities established a reading room in their city hall, which later grew into a public library , typically in its own building. The central room in a town hall (the "hall" proper) began to be used for a variety of other functions; some cities installed a large pipe organ to facilitate public entertainment. In the 20th century, town halls served

714-518: The cold open would feature one of the lawyers talking to Judge Franklin in his chambers. The title sequence would begin at Judge Franklin's home with Franklin preparing for work. The photographs that the camera pans across are actually of Shield himself, showing his days in the Army and as a young man. After a kiss to his wife and a wave to their neighbors, Judge Franklin would drive off to work as we heard him narrate: "I'm Judge Robert J. Franklin. I chose

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748-625: The crown jewels of Pasadena, along with the Colorado Street Bridge, the Rose Bowl and the Gamble House. Although the renovation has been among the costliest public works projects in Pasadena, totaling $ 117 million, city officials decided that they couldn't risk losing the landmark in another quake." The City Hall has long been a favorite shooting location for filmmakers. The courtyard was used in

782-513: The law as my way of serving my fellow citizens. As an elected judge in the family court, I pray each day that God will give me the wisdom to always temper justice with mercy." The building standing in for the courthouse is the Pasadena City Hall in Pasadena, California . The title sequence would then end with him entering his chambers, sitting down, and signing some documents; concluding with

816-575: The middle of the 19th century, a single large open chamber (or "hall") formed an integral part of the building housing the council and such other organs of government as supported it. The hall may be used for council meetings and other significant events. This large chamber, the "town hall" (and its later variant "city hall") became synonymous with the whole building, and, synecdochically , the municipal government headquartered there. The terms "council chambers", "municipal building" or variants may be used locally in preference to "town hall" if no such large hall

850-443: The new Civic Hall . Large halls called basilicas were used in ancient Rome for the administration of justice, as meeting places, and for trade. The development of the town hall as a setting for local governance meetings and decisions is historically related to the early cities in medieval Europe. The objective was to have engagement with the citizens in a public space by a representative civic authority. The oldest town hall in

884-427: The public as places for voting, examinations, vaccinations , disaster relief, and disseminating information through noticeboards, as well as for the more usual civil functions, festivities, and entertainments. Local councils have increasingly tended to move administrative functions into modern offices. Where new premises are designed and constructed to house local governments, the functions of an administrative office and

918-454: The television show Parks and Recreation . The dome is visible through the window of the main characters' apartment building in the television show The Big Bang Theory , set in Pasadena. The building featured in the last episode of Jericho ; it was used as the City Hall of Cheyenne, Wyoming . The building also appeared in the opening shots of The Amazing Race 21 premiere. The City Hall

952-516: The term "town hall" may be used even in a city. This is often the case in the United Kingdom (examples being Manchester Town Hall and Liverpool Town Hall ), Australia ( Sydney Town Hall ), New Zealand , and elsewhere. People in some regions use the term "city hall" to designate the council offices of a municipality of city status . This is the case in North America , where a distinction

986-417: The time it would be occupied by routine administrative and judicial functions. In a smaller manor, a lord might even live in the hall with his family and retainers. Inasmuch as the manor was the primary local jurisdiction of medieval society, the hall was a place of great local importance. In the later Middle Ages or early modern period , many European market towns erected communal market halls , comprising

1020-539: The west entrance, is 26 feet (7.9 m) tall and 54 feet (16 m) in diameter. On July 28, 1980 the Civic Center District, including Pasadena City Hall, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as listing #80000813. By the late 20th century the building no longer met modern building codes, and studies indicated that a major earthquake could destroy several parts of it, likely resulting in

1054-552: The world is Palazzo Senatorio in Rome , Italy, which is established in AD 1144. In the Early Middle Ages , the great hall , a single large open chamber, was the main, and sometimes only room of the home of a feudal lord . A great variety of activities took place in the hall, which was an all-purpose space. The lord would host banquets and other grand ceremonies in the hall, but most of

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1088-560: Was also filming location of the episode "The Confession" from the television series The Incredible Hulk and it was also seen in the opening to the TV court show The Judge from 1986 to 1993. City hall In local government , a city hall , town hall , civic centre (in the UK or Australia ), guildhall , or municipal building (in the Philippines ) is the chief administrative building of

1122-543: Was lifted off its foundation, equipped with structural base isolators and given a new foundation. The renovation of Pasadena City Hall earned a LEED Gold certification. Following construction, staff moved back starting in April 2007 and City Hall was fully operational again by July. At the time, the Los Angeles Times noted: "In a city where historic preservation is much like a civic obsession, City Hall has long been among

1156-420: Was one of several popular shows of the day that featured dramatizations of actual court cases. The Judge was produced and licensed by WBNS-TV in Columbus, Ohio , and was distributed by Genesis Entertainment . Each episode normally began with a pre-hearing cold open , usually featuring with one or both of the parties discussing the upcoming trial either inside or just outside the courtroom. In some episodes,

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