Historic Westwood Town Hall

Historic Westwood Town Hall. . , A desire by the Village of Westwood for a civic center, Westwood Town Hall, crystalized in 1888, twenty years after the village’s founding. A triangular 3-acre lot had been aquired earlier in 1884 from James Slaven. By March 1888, architech Charles C. Crapsey of Crapsey and Brown began designing the striking Shingle-Style building. In April 1888, residents overwhelmingly approved construction of Westwood Town Hall. Later tha summer, Michael Werk, H.M. Ernst, Robert Orr, and Sidney S. Jackson laid the cornerstone on July 28, 1888., Completed in 1889, Westwood Town Hall became the village’s seat for town council, administrative offices, a jail, and it’s volunteer fire department. The building included committee rooms, the mayor’s office, dressing rooms for ladies and men, and a ticket office. A great hall served as the village’s civic meeting space along with two smaller halls on the second floor., Westwood Town Hall was dedicated on April 13, 1889. Council,an James N. Gamble and his wife Margaret Penrose Gamble presided over inaugural festivities. Councilman George C. Witt proudly handed over keys for Town Hall to Mayor Louis Reseemelin., As Cincinnati prepared to annex the Village of Westwood in 1895, rumors of the sale or razing of Westwood Town Hall deeply disturbed villagers. To protect Town Hall, the village’s last Mayor James N. Gamble insisted to Cincinnati’s Board of Administration that the building and park-like grounds be preserved for use by Westwood citizens. On May 8, 1896 Westwood became part of the City of Cincinnati, Town Hall remained its civic center., From its inception, Westwood Town Hall was home to theatrical productions, civic presentations, orations, and musical concerns. For years, Town Hall hosted the Westwood Conservatory of Music, Westwood Choral Society, and musicians and singers. From 1894 to 1966, Town Hall housed Westwood’s YMCA.