Trinidad City Hall:

Built in 1909 after location disputes

by Rona Stansbury,
February 3, 1997

Trinidad City Hall in 2002
Photo taken by Charlie of Adobe Gold Properties

The next stop on our walking tour of Trinidad takes us across the street from the Carnegie Public Library to the Trinidad City Hall. This building has a strong Romanesque presence with a taste of Victorian flair.

City Hall is located on Animas Street, and was constructed in 1909 for a price of $12,800 (not including the foundation). The foundation for the building was built several years before the actual building. This was apparently due to disagreements on the building's location.

The architecture of this building is unique and diverse. The front corner towers are from the late Italian Renaissance period; the balustrade on top of the building is French Renaissance; and the font of the building has Greek Ionic capitals above polished black granite columns that rest on early Italian Renaissance bases.

If you had the gift of x-ray vision, you should be able to see several publications in City Halls cornerstone. At the dedication on January 1, 1909, the book All About Las Animas County written by Dr. Michael Beshoar (published in 1882), an 1888 copy of the City Directory, and copies of two daily papers were placed there.

The exterior of City Hall has had few alterations since 1909. However, the building caught fire in 1980 and the interior was rebuilt . A highlight of the interior is its graceful and unusual staircase.

Photo of North Side
Notice the Intricate Stone Work and Detail
especially on the Arch

Drop in for a visit to the Trinidad City Hall and enjoy its unique design and absorb its presence of the past. You'll be glad you made the trip.

Sources:

Trinidad: A Historic Building Survey; a survey conducted through the City Demonstration Agency by the Trinidad Historical Society.

A Walk Through The History of Trinidad; a walking tour published by the Trinidad Historical Society

Historic photographs by Oliver Aultman courtesy of Glenn Aultman, Colorado Historical Society, & A.R. Mitchell Memorial Museum of Western Art.