The Old City Hall, located at 24 Kennedy Street, was built in 1897 by the Hanley Brick Company for $26,145, which if calculated for inflation would be $750,868 according to the Consumer Price Index.
The walls of the Victorian Romanesque Revival building are 18 inches thick. Hanley Brick is non-porous pressed brick that was processed in William Hanley’s plant in Lewis Run. The stone and masonry work was done by Bradford resident D.J. Kelly of Kelly Brothers. The three-foot foundation was cut by stone provided and laid by J.D. Kelly. The unique half circle rotunda has a terrazzo floor. All of the woodwork, including the central wide staircase is made of straight-grained oak.
If you look up at the façade of the building on the Kennedy Street side, you will see four reliefs of a lady smiling down on you. There are several stories about who was the possible model for these reliefs. Some say that it was just a young lady from Bradford. Others however, say it is the face of a daughter of an early oil producer and a model for the stonecutter who fell in love with her.
Old City Hall has changed hands several times. The building was used as a city hall until 1961 when it became too small to accommodate the growing need of the city. The city offices moved to 130 Main St. prior to moving to its present location on Kennedy Street. In 1975 there were plans to demolish the building to make way for a new police department. City officials and concerned citizens worked together to preserve the building.
Dr. Donald Swarts of the Landmark Society went before city council and pleaded for more time to see if the building could be preserved because of its historical value. Councilman Oscar Benton, a board member The Landmark Society, offered a resolution that granted a 120-day moratorium on any plans to demolish the building.
Councilman Fred Proper offered an alternative resolution for rejecting all demolition bids. Councilman David J. Kreinson suggested that the Landmark Society purchase the building for five dollars. Mayor Max Moore announced that the building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places and therefore was safe from demolition.
The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission allocated $70,000. Community development funds matched that allocation, and members of the community donated an additional $19,814 to restore the building. In 1980, it was sold to Richard Bly of Kane, who wanted to turn it into private apartments but his plans fell through.
In 1993, Jim Bracco of Alexandria, Va., purchased the building from Colligan Real Estate and First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Kane which had a lien on the building. Bracco wanted to turn it into a youth center. In 1996, he began to work on remodeling the building.
In July of 1996, 21st Century Appraisals reassessed the building and valued it at $275,720. Based on this, he lost interest in the building and said that he would be willing to sell in back to the city for 10 percent of the assessed value. The city bought it back for about $26,000, which ironically is about the same amount that it initially cost to be built. The Office of Economic and Community Development restored and continues to maintain the building. Using mostly local contractors, the agency completed the $6 million-dollar project and dedicated the building on Feb. 20, 2007.
The restoration was funded by state and federal grants. In March 2003, Amark Environmental of Erie removed asbestos from the building. Mistick Construction of Pittsburgh was awarded the bid for roof work, repair of the decorative cornices and installation of windows. In July 2004, Schneider Restorations Inc. of Newtown was awarded the contract for masonry work on exterior brickwork.
In 1901, the building was badly damaged by a fire occurring at Beamer’s Stable, on Kennedy Street. The building was declared a total loss. With a large city block burned to the ground, it was known as the worst fire in Bradford’s history. The fire was originally thought to be contained but the wind blew embers that ignited the entire city block and at least 20 homes on Boylston Street. The exterior walls made of Hanley brick were able to withstand the intense heat and pressure from the fire.
Among the rubble from the fire was the gavel that the former Mayor Dr. Hugh Ryan used to conduct city council meetings. The gavel was found floating in water by a volunteer fireman. The gavel was originally used by the Honorable J. C Greenwald, the 10th mayor, from 1899 to 1901. The gavel still bared his roughly carved initials.
The fire completely destroyed the original wooden tower. On Nov. 22, 1935, Miss Edith Newell gave city hall a Seth Thomas clock in honor of her father Frank Newell, watchmaker and the first postmaster of Bradford. The Seth Thomas clock with its four faces was made only of the best brick, wood and solid brass. When it was built it cost $4,300 ($123, 500 by today’s standards).
The clock tower was redesigned to accommodate the clock and bell tower. The city offices were moved across the street to the Aurehaim Building until the repairs could be made. On April 4, 1902, a police station lockup was moved into the restored section of the building. City council met for the first time in the repaired building on Dec. 16, 1902.
On April 1, 1971, Ferman D. Sweetapple Jr. and Francis D. Chiodo Jr. placed dynamite sticks on the first floor windowsill of the first floor. Earlier in evening, they stole dynamite sticks from the Hanley Brick Company in Lewis Run. It’s ironic that they stole dynamite from the same company which provided the bricks that withstood the blast. The explosion blew out 41 windows and sent glass fragments across Boylston Street. Sweetapple and Chiodo Jr. were found guilty to charges of burglary and larceny and counts of malicious mischief by explosives. Six juveniles were later charged in connection with the incident.
The Old City Hall has remained standing despite a fire in 1901, threats of demolition and explosives. The Old City Hall continues to be a focal point of our Downtown Bradford Historic District and if walls could speak, no doubt their stories would be interesting. In 1931, Hanley said, “My buildings were built to stand the test of time” and it truly has.
(Roessler is marketing and adult programming coordinator at Bradford Area Public Library.)
