Page:Municipal Handbook of Auckland 1922.djvu/57

 At the opening ceremony the Mayor formally acknowledged two splendid gifts which had been made to the citizens and erected in the Town Hall. The first was the pipe organ, the gift of Mr. Henry Brett, a former Mayor of the City; the other was the clock, presented by Mr. A. M. Myers, who had just retired from the Mayoralty.

The architectural style of the building is a free treatment of the Classic, and the material used for the facades is Oamaru limestone with a base in Melbourne bluestone. For the main Queen and Grey Street fronts a columnar method of design has been adopted, terminating at the apex formed by the junction of the two streets in a segmental colonnade, surmounted by a tower 18 feet square and 130 feet high, in which is fixed the clock with four dials of 8½ feet diameter, presented by Mr. A. M. Myers. In front of this colonnade is a terrace enclosed by a stone balustrade, with provision for a statue at the extreme angle. A feature of the structure of the building is the arrangement of the foundations, which necessitated special treatment on account of the depth at which rock was found. Concrete piers have been carried down at intervals to the rock and the spaces between spanned by concrete beams carrying the walls, the beams being reinforced with Kahn steel bars.

The principal entrance is from Queen Street, and the building is divided into two portions, the first being a four-storey building containing the Municipal Offices, and the other containing the Large Hall, Concert Chamber, and Supper Room.