Watertown City Hall (Old)



Demolition 1966

Old City Hall, Court St. 1921

The old Watertown City Hall stood on Court Street in Watertown. The campaign for a new city hall was spearheaded by then mayor James B. Wise, and the building was erected in 1896 on the site of the old Trinity Church. The building was constructed of stone, and the bell tower was outfitted with the bell that was once housed in the old county courthouse that once stood on Court Street.

During construction, the city became embroiled in controversy as work on the building involved the desecration of the Old Burying Ground cemetery that sat behind Trinity Church. After much wrangling and bad press, the city had the bodies in the cemetery re-interred to Brookside Cemetery soon after the building's completion.

Watertown City Hall Bell

City Hall moved its offices to a modern facility on Washington Street in 1963. The Urban Renewal program saw the old City Hall earmarked for demolition, which took place in 1966.

The old courthouse bell was salvaged, and restored by the Watertown Rotary Club, who donated it to the city. The bell today sits as a monument next to City Hall on Washington Street.