When City Hall Was on Market and Decatur Streets

From 1888 to 1913, a stone structure near the intersection of Market and Decatur Streets was home to a public marketplace. Sandusky’s City Hall occupied the upper floors of the market building. The 1905 Sanborn Map indicates that the city building was long and narrow.

In February of 1888, there was still much debate as to whether City Hall should occupy the upper level of the marketplace. In fact, in 1885 a ballot measure to build a new city hall and jail was rejected by 2489 votes to 920. However, in 1887, the city approved the construction of a marketplace on the West Market land. For some reason, a second floor office space was included in the design; eventually the city council approved the use of the second floor space as a city hall. Despite some opposition, the city won a lawsuit attempting to stop the use of the building for city government, and the second floor became city hall in June 1888.

During the litigation of the case, a reporter from the Sandusky Register interviewed leading citizens to get their opinion on this action: 

Randall Schuck was in favor of City Hall being on the upper level of the market building, but H.C. Huntington said the location was “a very inconvenient place for city offices.” Adam Stoll said that the Council was an intelligent body of men who would take satisfactory action. Ultimately City Hall did occupy the second floor of the marketplace for several years.

This historical post card shows a slightly different view of the former City Hall:

Sadly, during the same week in March of 1913 in which floods ravaged the state of Ohio (most seriously in Dayton), the City Hall building was destroyed by fire. A front page article in the Sandusky Register of March 26, 1913 reported on the flooding in Ohio and the fire that destroyed City Hall.

By 1915, City Hall was on the south side of Market Street between Columbus Avenue and Jackson Street, in a building originally intended as a joint Police and Fire Department headquarters. 

The City Building on W. Market St., shortly before its demolition in 1957

You can read more about former City Hall buildings in Sandusky at the website of the Erie County Historical Society.