Located at the top of Parliament Street on the city's southern side, the City Hall building stands next to Dublin Castle, the centre of the British government in Ireland until 1922. Parliament Street had been laid-out in 1753, providing a continuation of Capel Street on the north bank of the Liffey, across the newly widened Essex Bridge. Originally built as the Royal Exchange, the structure was designed by Thomas Cooley, who had won a design competition run for the project between 1768 and 1769. The exterior of the building is primarily made out of white Portland stone from a quarry in Dorset. The large size and fittings of the exchange, with carved capitals by Simon Vierpyl, and plasterwork by the leading stuccodore Charles Thorpe, reflect the standing and prestige of Dublin in the 18th Century. The neo-classical building contains a central entrance hall or Rotunda, with a large dome supported by twelve columns which are surrounded by an ambulatory where the merchants strolled and discussed business meetings. The function of the building was to act as the Dublin Stock Exchange and to provide a meeting place for Dublin's businessmen. It was also close to the then Customs House that stood on the site of today's Clarence Hotel, making it convenient for overseas merchants. The cost of building the exchange was met by the Parliament of Ireland, and this is reflected by the initials "SPQH", standing for "Senatus PopulusQue Hibernicus", meaning "The senate and people of Ireland". The city government had originally been located in the mediæval Tholsel at the corner of Nicholas Street and Christchurch Place, approximately 300 metres to the west, and before that on the Thingmount, where Suffolk Street now runs. In the 18th century, meetings were held in South William Street. In 1815 the metal balustrade of the exchange fell, owing to the pressure against it by a crowd, which led to the death of nine people, with much more injured. This led to crowd restrictions in the building. In the 1850s, the City Corporation bought the Royal Exchange and converted it for use by the city government. The changes included partitions around the ambulatory, the construction of a new staircase from the Rotunda to the upper floors and the sub-division of the vaults for storage. On 30 September 1852, the Royal Exchange was renamed City Hall at the first meeting of Dublin City Council held there. A series of frescos were later added, representing the regions of Ireland. During the 1916 Easter Rising, the City Hall was used as a garrison for the Irish Citizen Army. Sean Connolly seized the building using a key which he obtained as he worked in the motor department and had access to the building. There were 35 people based here, mostly women. It was in this area where the first casualty of the rising, a guard named James O’Brien, occurred at Dublin Castle and he was shot by Sean Connolly while on duty. In total, the entire siege lasted about 12 hours.
Today
The building was restored to its 18th-century appearance at the beginning of the 21st century, and Dublin City Council won an award for the conservation work on the building. Most Dublin City Council staff are located in the newer and brutalist design Civic Offices, controversially built from 1979 on the site of a national monument, the Viking city foundations on Wood Quay. Dublin Corporation itself was renamed in the early 21st century as Dublin City Council, previously the name of the assembly of councillors only. Some council meetings take place in City Hall. There is an exhibition on the history of Dublin City, called "Dublin City Hall, The Story of the Capital", located in the vaults.
