The New Municipal Buildings.

Feilding Star, Volume XVII, Issue 160, 9 January 1896, Page 2

The New Municipal Buildings.

The style adopted by the architect is Roman Renaissance, and by the employment of pilasters, a very striking appearance is given to the Kimbolton road and Stafford street elevations of the building. The material used in the construction is timber, but the exterior has been so treated as to give the appearance of masonry. The Council Chambers are entered from Kimbolton road through an outer porch and a vestibule, 12ft x 9ft. The vestibule doors are hung on Smith's patent spring hinges. Upon entering the vestibule the door on the right leads into the Council meeting room, 40 x 19. The door on the left of the vestibule leads into the Town Clerk's office, 19 x 16, and from that office access is gained to the brick strong room. The Public Library portion of the building is entered from Stafford street through an outer porch and vestibule, 12ft 3fn x 6ft, and from this vestibule access is gained to the library (14ft x 12ft 6in), news room (27 x 18), lavatory, and private reading room (18ft 3iu x 16ft). The ceilings of all the rooms (16ft high) are handsomely panelled with picked rimu— that in the Council room being a special feature — and the cornices are picked out in delicate distemper tints. The rooms are all papered with sanitary distempered papers, and dadoed • the dadoes in each room varyiug in design. The building is well lighted, ventilated, aud provided with open fireplaces throughout— the man tlepieces being handsouielv marbled. The Fire Brigade meeting room aud fire engine shed are located at the back of the Council Chambers, and, in fact, every available space ot the section granted by the Colonists' Land and Loan Corporation has been occupied by the new structures. The buildings have been constructed and designed by the architect, Mr James, so as to take another story at any future time. The contractor, Mr Robert Young, has given Mr James the greatest satisfaction by the conscientious manner in which he has carried out the work, and the sub-con-tractors, Messrs P. Thomson, plumber, Tozer, painter and decorator, aud Huddleston, bricklayer, have also carried out their sub contracts well.