No. 5207 Town Hall, painting on brick.
Edward A. Huebener, a former Board member of the Dorchester Historical Society, was a collector of materials relating to Dorchester history including a very large collection of graphic materials, including prints and photographs, now owned by the Society. His very own contribution to this group of materials was the idea of taking a brick from a house that had been demolished and asking a local illustrator to paint a picture of the house upon the brick. The painted bricks may be viewed at the Dorchester Historical Society.
The Town Hall was built in 1816 on Washington Street at the southwest corner of what is now Codman Square (Washington and Norfolk Streets). Codman Square was determined to be centrally located for the inhabitants of Dorchester.
No. 22068 Detail from 1858 Walling Map of Norfolk County showing, at the bottom, the intersection of Washington Street and Norfolk Street. Town Hall was located at the southeast corner of the intersection.
No. 3241 Town Hall
The Codman Square branch of the Boston Public Library replaced the Town Hall in 1904. It is in Colonial Revival style with cupola and Chinese Chippendale roof balustrade. Now owned by the city but leased to the Codman Square Health Center, it is known as the Great Hall.
No. 551 Illustration is a postcard from about 1920, showing the library branch at the former location of the Town Hall. The meeting space in this building is now called The Great Hall.