| Poplar Town Hall | |
|---|---|
 The building in 2007 | |
| Location | Bow Road, Poplar |
| Coordinates | 51°31′42″N0°01′11″W / 51.5284°N 0.0198°W |
| Built | 1938 |
| Architect | Culpin and Son |
| Architectural style(s) | Modernist style |
Listed Building – Grade II | |
| Designated | 24 February 2009 |
| Reference no. | 1393151 |
  Shown in Tower Hamlets | |
Poplar Town Hall is a municipal building at the corner of Bow Road and Fairfield Road in Poplar, London. It is a Grade II listed building. [1]
The building was commissioned to replace the Old Town Hall, located 1.7 miles (2.7 km) due south on Poplar High Street. [2] [3] The site chosen for the new building had been occupied by a 19th century vestry hall. [4]
The foundation stone for the new building was laid by the former mayor, Alderman Charles Key, on 8 May 1937. [5] [6] It was designed by Culpin and Son in the Modernist style in a shape that took the form of a trapezoid. [1] [7] The design involved a rounded frontage at the junction of Bow Road and Fairfield Road; there were layers of continuous stone facing panels above and below a continuous band of glazing on the first, second and third floors. [4] The Builders, a frieze by sculptor David Evans on the face of the building, was unveiled by George Lansbury at the official opening of the building on 10 December 1938. [1] Made of Portland stone panels, it commemorated the trades constructing the town hall and symbolised the borough's relationship with the River Thames and the youth of Poplar. [8] [9] The principal rooms were the council chamber, the mayor's parlour and an assembly hall which benefited from a sprung Canadian maple dance floor. [10] The architect, Edwin Culpin, claimed it was "the first town hall in this country to be erected in the modern style". [11]
The building was proclaimed by the council to be the first town hall to be erected in the modernist style [4] but ceased to function as the local seat of government when the enlarged London Borough of Tower Hamlets was formed in 1965. [12]
After being used as workspace by the council until the mid-1980s, the town hall was sold in the 1990s to a developer who added a roof extension and converted it for commercial use. [10] The complex had included a theatre, with a 35 feet (11 m) proscenium arch, which was demolished by the developer in 2000. [13] The complex was subsequently used as a business centre. [4]
Poplar is a district in East London, England and is in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is an inner-city suburb located five miles (8 km) east of Charing Cross and lays on the western bank of the River Lea and is part of the London Docklands.
The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a borough of London, England. Situated on the north bank of the River Thames and immediately east of the City of London, the borough spans much of the traditional East End of London and includes much of the regenerated London Docklands area. The 2019 mid-year population for the borough is estimated at 324,745.
Bromley, commonly known as Bromley-by-Bow, is a district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London, located on the western banks of the River Lea, in the Lower Lea Valley in East London.
Poplar was a local government district in the metropolitan area of London, England. It was formed as a district of the Metropolis in 1855 and became a metropolitan borough in the County of London in 1900. It comprised Poplar, Millwall, Bromley-by-Bow and Bow as well as Old Ford, Fish Island and Cubitt Town.
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St George in the East, historically known as Wapping-Stepney, was an ancient parish, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, England. The place name is no longer widely used.
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Camberwell Town Hall is a municipal building in Peckham Road, Camberwell, London, England.
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Wandsworth Town Hall is a municipal building on the corner of Wandsworth High Street and Fairfield Street in Wandsworth, London. The building, which is the headquarters of Wandsworth London Borough Council, is a Grade II listed building.
The Old Council House is a former municipal building in Poplar Road, Solihull, West Midlands, England. The town hall, which was the meeting place of Solihull Borough Council, is now a public house.
The Old Town Hall is a former municipal building at the corner of Poplar High Street and Woodstock Terrace in Poplar, London. The building, which currently accommodates the Lansbury Heritage Hotel, is a Grade II listed building.