An architectural competition was announced in 1768 by the Merchants' Guild of Dublin for a new Royal Exchange on Cork Hill opposite the recently opened Parliament Street.
A Londoner, Thomas Cooley, won the first prize of £100 (and the commission). James Gandon won the second prize of £60. Construction work started in 1769 but it would take 10 years before the building was completed.
The finished work was greeted with great enthusiasm and praise. In 1851 the Merchants' Guild vacated the building in favour of Dublin Corporation. The upstairs Coffee Room was converted into the Council Chamber (in which function it still serves) and the Rotunda was made smaller by the erection of screen walls and partitions around the ambulatory.
In the late 1990s a complete refurbishment of City Hall was undertaken by Dublin City Council and the building was restored to the original designs of Cooley. City Hall has now one of the finest Classical interiors in Dublin. In the lower ground floor is the Story of Dublin, a wonderful exhibition of civic life in Dublin since medieval days.
City Hall houses the wonderful Story of the Capital exhibition, which is open to the public every day.
For more information on Dublin City Hall, Click Here
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