Chicago’s first City Hall appears in 1837 when the entire population is well under the 1840 Census figure of 4,470 people. It is located at the Saloon House (a large hall, not a tavern) on the corner of Lake and Clark Streets. In 1842 it shifts to the Widow Chapman’s building, and then in 1848 to the Old Market Hall in the middle of State Street between Lake and Randolph. By 1850 the population has grown to 29,963 and in 1853 the City Hall-County office takes over. It expands during the ‘50’s into the impressive complex in the photograph which shows the rear entrance shot from Randolph Street looking south toward Washington Blvd.
Chicago City Hall
