Old City Hall (Portland, Maine)

The Old City Hall of Portland, Maine, was located in what was then known as Market Square or Haymarket Square (Monument Square today) between 1833 and 1888, when it was demolished. In 1862, it was replaced by an earlier version of the City Hall located today on Congress Street, a short distance northeast of the original location.

History
The Town of Portland built its Market House in Market (or Haymarket) Square 1825. The first floor in the building's early years housed stalls used by farmers to sell agricultural products. Also known as Military Hall, the building's simple gable appearance was modified in 1833, to plans made the previous year by Charles Quincy Clapp. Clapp updated the building to the Greek Revival style by removing the cupola from the roof and adding a portico to the front. The cupola was reinstalled on the Universalist school house (now Alumni Hall on the University of New England campus) in Portland's Deering neighborhood.

The new building was the site of the 1855 Portland Rum Riot, which involved mayor Neal Dow and led to one death. It was replaced by a new city hall in 1862 on Congress Street at the head of Exchange Street. The old city hall was demolished in 1888 and replaced by the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, at which time Market Square was renamed Monument Square.

Between 1866 and 1868, the old city hall building was brought into use as such again, after the first iteration of the Congress Street building burned in the fire of 1866.

The United States Hotel, built in 1803, stood behind both iterations of the building.