Hall order EVERY CITY IN PORTUGAL HAS ITS HALL, AND EVERY CITY HALL HAS I T S S T O R Y. S O M E H AV E B E E N L O V E D A N D A D M I R E D F R O M T H E S TA R T, O T H E R S H AV E C A U S E D M U N I C I PA L M AY H E M
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C A R O LY N K A I N
HE POPULATION of Lisbon was divided. Their old City Hall had burned to the ground and its replacement took 15 years to build. The new building offended some, shocked others and titillated a few. The subject of newspaper articles, cartoons and satirical poems for almost a hundred years until the mid 20th century, it was regarded as something of an embarrassment! Plenty of other more impressive city halls had taken longer to build, such as Porto’s six-storey edifice. The concept was conceived by English architect Barry Parker (1867-1947), and while no one complained of its enormous scale and the 70-metre clock tower, in Lisbon dissatisfaction continued. Nearby in Sintra, people marvelled and still do at the City
Hall’s extravagant architecture, its massive clock tower, its spires and armillary sphere. Likewise, the City Hall in Póvoa de Varzim was and is a source of civic pride. Built in the 18th century and renovated in the early 20th century it has magnificent azulejos at top floor level, and at street level an arcade consisting of a gallery of seven arches. Not to be outdone by cities in the north, Tavira’s City Hall has a gallery with a dozen arches overlooking the Praça da República. In sight of the River Gilão and the bandstand, from 1890 onwards this was the main centre of attraction and continues to be so today. And in Portimão, what was once the Bivar Palace, a mixture of baroque and neo-classical architecture, belonged to a famous politician and is now home to the City Hall. The Algarve has many other splendid examples mostly located in the old parts of town such as the city halls in
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KNOWING PLUS
