Stand in front of the Ashland City Hall and you will see a massive three-story block of Apostle Island brownstone. It was built between 1892 and 1893 to serve as a post office, designed by federal architect Willoughby J. Edbrooke. It is the tallest building in the West Second Street Historic District, mostly because it has a four-story tower with a pyramidal roof that demands your attention.
Construction was supervised by local architect H.P. Padley. He used local stone to create a heavy, Richardsonian Romanesque look, featuring a foliated arch at the entrance supported by clusters of short columns. If you look at the first floor, the windows have brownstone voussoirs and archivolt moldings. The upper floors switch to rectangular and arched windows as they climb higher. The building even has a north side addition that matches the original style and is made of matching materials.
Inside, there is a fine oak staircase that leads to every floor and up into the tower. The stairwell features restored paneled wainscoting for those who enjoy traditional interior details. It is a shame about the sand-blasting during its renovation from a vocational school to its current role as City Hall, which left some visible deterioration on the stone.
The tower is now silent because the original bell is missing. The city still owns the bell, but they have it in storage. You can still see the 2010s handicap ramp on the west side, which is a modern necessity for a building that is over a century old.
Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons
Written by Kyle McLonely
Discuss this with the author and others
No comments yet. Be the first to start the conversation.