The Paris Town Hall is said to be the first edifice built in the Gothic Revival style in North America and now the Canadian government has designated it a National Historic site. It was built in 1854 in the small but growing, industrial community of Paris, 111 km southwest of Toronto. It was not only the town hall but it was also a centre of social and political activity.
‘Extraordinary good news’
“This is extraordinary good news,” said David Powell, a member of a committee that has been working hard to preserve the building for close to 15 years. He hopes the designation as an historic site will revive interest in the building and spur restoration.
The building has been used as an auction house for the last 25 years and he says it has been all but forgotten. It served as a munitions factory during World War I, became a knitting mill and later a needle manufacturing plant, a private residence and a retail craft shop.
In designating the building as historic, the government draws attention to a marvel of medieval architectural details, including the magnificent wooden structure of the ceiling hall on its second floor. Powell says that the large hall has great acoustics and could be used for concerts. In the past it was used for plays, operas, conferences and film projections.
The building is famous for its second-floor vaulted ceiling and Gothic windows. (Bob Hasler)
The building has a tower which originally housed a bell, angled buttresses and some windows in the Gothic Revival pointed style and some rectangular Tudor-style windows.
At one time, the ground floor housed a market at one end, a council room and municipal offices at the other.The basement had a lower market and a few small prison cells which are still there.
The basement has a few tiny jail cells with messages still on the walls. (Janet Snaith)
In 2016, the Corporation of the County of Brant bought the building from a private owner. This took some lobbying and a million-dollar donation from Linda Schuyler, a Canadian television producer who grew up in Paris, Ontario.
The designation as a national historic site means the building will not be demolished and Powell hopes the there will be renewed interest in it. He notes the area is growing rapidly and the building could once more be a centre of social activity and historic recognition.
Video from The Paris Museum, Archives and Historical Society via YouTube
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