Apalachicola City Hall Warehouse

Apalachicola City Hall Warehouse. 222 Water Street. , This granite and brick Greek revival building, presently serving as the Apalachicola City Hall, was the first of more than fifty identical three-story warehouse structures built here on Water Street in the 1830's to accommodate the burgeoning Port of Apalachicola. These warehouses were constructed on land purchased from the Apalachicola Land Company, in accordance with the “New York Contract.” This term referred to the Apalachicola Land Company's parent company, the New York Land Company, which developed nearly identical warehouses, which are still standing on New York's Water Street as part of New York's South Street Seaport area. , With the decline of this Port in the late 19th century, all but this building and the Harrison-Raney building at 218 Water Street were lost due to fire, hurricanes and the lack of maintenance. William Murtagh, the first U.S. Keeper of the National Register of Historic Places, on seeing these remaining 1830's buildings, wrote: “These two remaining buildings are crucially important, because they are the remaining skeletons of what started this town.” , Over the years, this warehouse was used as a commission store, office space, saloon, and cannery storage. Since its purchase by the City of Apalachicola more than 60 years ago, the warehouse has been used as the fire station, police station, jail and City Hall. In 2005, with the assistance of funding from the Florida Secretary of State, Division of Historical Resources, the first two floors of this building were restored. Today the building is used by the City to house City Hall and other city operations. , To learn more, visit www.Cityofapalachicola.com