Oakland City Hall
historic place
Oakland City Hall, a historic place in Alameda County, California, was constructed between 1911 and 1914. This Beaux Arts building, Oakland's fifth City Hall, was designed by Palmer and Hornbostel. A $1.15 million bond issue funded its construction in 1909. For many years, it was Oakland's tallest building. It was reportedly the first U.S. city hall to combine ceremonial government with a high-rise office tower. Its three-tiered design earned it the nickname "Mayor Mott's wedding cake." The structure features a ten-story office tower and a 91-foot clock tower and cupola. It is clad in white California granite and terra cotta. Damaged in the 1989 earthquake, City Hall was renovated and retrofitted with a base isolation system, then rededicated on September 15, 1995, by Mayor Elihu Harris. It was designated an Oakland City Landmark in 1979 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. This site demonstrates early 20th-century civic architecture and engineering adaptation.