City Building

The Huntington City Building is an example of Richardsonian Romanesque style architecture and was built in 1904. It replaced a wood structure on the same site that was built in 1883.

In the photo of the first city building (ca. 1890s) notice the elevated plank sidewalks on either side of the dirt street.

In 1903, the Fort Wayne architecture firm of Wing & Mahurin was awarded the contract for the new City Building. Since the city council remained divided (four votes each for the two plans presented) Mayor Anderson stepped in and cast the deciding vote. Work began and the building was completed and furnished for $38,763. The dedication took place on December 29, 1904. The building undertook a major remodel that finished in 1990 and cost approximately $2.3 million. Gibson-Tourney-Kim Co. were the architects on this remodel. Except for a short period of time around 1920 when Lesh law firm was one of the occupants in the building, the city has always occupied the building.

The Huntington County Interim Report, 2nd Edition, labels the architecture style as Richardson Romanesque. In Indiana, this style remained popular until 1910. “The Romanesque Revival style first appeared in Indiana as early as the 1850s. This early phase of the style was imported by German architects and was influenced by a new interest in Romanesque architecture, which developed in Europe during the mid-1800s. Later in the century, American architect Henry Hobson Richardson (1838-86) greatly popularized Romanesque-inspired buildings. Structures that follow his designs closely are often termed "Richardsonian Romanesque" style buildings.” Some features represented of this style include the castle or fortress like exterior with heavy, rough stone walls. The heavy, impressive half-round arches and doorways and of course, the towers. Huntington City Building is location number 1 on the National Register of Historic Places registration form for the Huntington Courthouse Square Historic District which was approved in 1992.

1. “Contract for Plans,” Daily News-Democrat [Huntington, IN] 27 May 1903.
2. “Building has been a source of pride since ’04,” Herald-Press [Huntington, IN] 28 January 1990.
3. Huntington County Interim Report 2^nd Edition, Indiana 1982. This book can be located at the Huntington City-Township Public Library. hctpl.info.
4. “Romanesque Revival Style,”, IN.gov, accessed July 9, 2021, https://www.in.gov/dnr/historic-preservation/learn-about-topics/buildings-and-bridges/architectural-styles/romanesque-revival-style/
5. National Register Digital Places. National Registry of Historic Places. Accessed July 22, 2021. https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/85461645-f775-4cf8-a822-d8525b7cf0ba
6. Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps for Huntington, Indiana. Extracts of the corner of Market and Cherry for the years 1883, 1887, 1898, and 1904. Available at https://www.loc.gov/maps/?q=huntington+indiana+sanborn