WESTFIELD- The Historical Commission’s virtual tour of Westfield’s City Hall is now online.
The virtual tour of City Hall is narrated by Adam Wright and was photographed by Fred Gore. The tour takes the viewer through the building on Court Street and includes the history of the building and its place in Westfield.
The tour operates like a small-scale, indoor version of a program like Google Street View. The viewer can click on arrows that direct them to different parts of the building. In each room is a button that one can click to hear Wright describe the significance of the room and what city government business is typically conducted in it.
The tour begins outside of City Hall, next to the recently installed antique bicycle sculpture in the main parking lot, which Wright says is meant to celebrate Westfield’s industrial history.
The City Hall building on Court Street was constructed from 1889-1891. It originally housed Westfield Normal School until 1956 when the school, now known as Westfield State University, moved to its current location on Western Avenue. The building was then sold to the city and converted to house the offices of Westfield’s city government.
Historical Commission Chair Cindy Gaylord said May 17 that City Council President Brent B. Bean II asked the commission to present the tour to the City Council during its first virtual meeting in June.
“It was probably the hardest one we have done, researching all the information,” said Gaylord, “There was a lot to that building.”
The tour can be viewed at mls.kuu.la/share/collection/7YKVW?fs=1&vr=0&zoom=1&gyro=0&initload=0&thumbs=1
