By the end of the 19th century, the citizens of Hancock wanted a substantial government building that would reflect the city's prosperity and distinguish it from the more impermanent mining villages in the surrounding Keweenaw Peninsula.[2] In 1898, the Quincy Mine company sold a lot on Quincy Street to the city, and the Marquette firm of Charlton, Gilbert and Demar was hired to design a Town Hall and Fire Hall building on the site.[2] E.E. Grip and Company of Ishpeming built the structure at a cost of $15,000,[3] which opened in January 1899.[2] The building originally housed the city clerk's office and council chambers,[3] along with the marshall's office, jail, and the fire department.[2]
Description
The Hancock Town Hall is a two-story building constructed of rock-faced red Jacobsville Sandstone set in even courses, exhibiting Richardsonian Romanesque, Dutch, and Flemish architectural influences.[2] It has a gable roof and a square tower with belfry at one corner; the tower originally had a steep conical roof. The main facade is dominated by a broadly arched window filled with diagonally paned glass and flanked by smaller windows.[2]
