Belfast City Hall

Belfast, United Kingdom

The site now occupied by Belfast City Hall was once the home of the White Linen Hall, an important international Linen Exchange. Plans for the City Hall began in 1888 when Belfast was awarded city status by Queen Victoria. This was in recognition of Belfast's rapid expansion and thriving linen, rope-making, shipbuilding and engineering industries.

Construction began in 1898 under the supervision of architect Sir Alfred Brumwell Thomas and was completed in 1906. Belfast Corporation, now the council, its their profits from the gas industry to pay for the construction of the Belfast City Hall.

The exterior is built mainly from Portland stone and is in the Baroque Revival style. It covers an area of one and a half acres and has an enclosed courtyard. Featuring towers at each of the four corners, with a lantern-crowned 53 m copper dome in the centre, the City Hall dominates the city centre skyline. As with other Victorian buildings in the city centre, the City Hall's copper-coated domes are a distinctive green.

The Titanic Memorial in Belfast is located on the grounds of Belfast City Hall.

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Address

A1, Belfast, United Kingdom
See all sites in Belfast

Details

Founded: 1898
Category: Palaces, manors and town halls in United Kingdom

Rating

4.6/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Phil Tad (9 months ago)
Great place to visit and take photos. Went there is 2008 and got on the wheel (Belfast eye) and took photos of the city hall and surrounding area from above. If you like taking photos from a wheel/eye/flyer, try going during sunrise or sunset on a nice, clear day. You will be able to see many things and take really goo pictures, although I am not sure if this wheel/flyer is still in Belfast.
Enoch Olalude (10 months ago)
The heart of Belfast's administrative activities. The design is very impressive, I must say. This is a phenomenal structure, and it is punctuated with eye-catching and intricate details. It is also a very important building to the city of Belfast - housing the city council, and serving many other public purposes. Public transport to and from here is quite straightforward and it is a very picturesque location for photographers and tourists. I love the well-manicured lawns and the surrounding areas. Additionally, a tiny but brilliant detail I've noticed is that the objects which spell "Belfast" in front of the building seem to change every so-often, and I think that's very neat.
Traveler By Choice (10 months ago)
You get to explore interesting exhibitions and enjoy classical architecture. Admission here is free. They also offer guides tours at scheduled timing. Keep aside one to two hours for this visit. The Belfast City Hall is filled up with history and fun facts about Northern Ireland.
Trehan (10 months ago)
Belfast City Hall: Unfortunately due to the event during the bank Holiday weekend we never got to go in, however, it is Free, so definitely visit. The outside and the grounds are beautiful and well maintained. A Gorgeous architectural building. Stunning all day long. I’m sure the inside looks just as nice. Worth a visit. Central to Belfast city, surrounded by bars, eateries and restaurants. ?
Leslie Jones (11 months ago)
Fantastic City Hall. A design competition was launched for the building, and an expensive entry was selected due to it's design. The resulting building is fabulous and has been very well maintained. One hour tours are free and our guide was excellent and extremely knowledgeable about the building. We were taken in all the main rooms and their history explained to us. You even have the opportunity to try on the Lord Mayor's robes and sit in his chair in the Council Chamber! In the gardens at the side of the building is a memorial to the Titanic disaster which again is extremely well looked after.
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