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This is the old city hall of St. Louis. These are a few excerpts from the St. Louis Historical Preservation Society web page.

Should you ever find yourself in St. louis you should see this. There is a detail view of the clock http://www.trekearth.com/workshops/745171/photo113361.htm in the ws.

An architectural competition for the design of the building was won with the French-styled plan that was inspired by the Hotel de Ville or City Hall of Paris. Its ornamental dormer windows and its former towers also recall architectural elements of the Chateau de Chambord on the Loire River in France.

Construction began on July 19, 1890 and was completed on November 5, 1904. No bonds were issued to finance its construction, which is why it took 14 years to complete the building. The budget was limited at $2 million, but the final cost was only $1,787,159.16.

The exterior of the first story is Missouri pink granite that contrasts with pink-orange Roman brick on the upper floors and buff color sandstone trim located in an irregular pattern around the window openings. The roof is burgundy-red clay tiles. There was a modification, the central tower and lesser spires near each end of the 12th Boulevard facade were removed about 1938 because of structural problems.

Its central interior feature is a white marble rotunda, about 100 feet square, with a colored glass skylight above and a marble grand staircase opposite the main entrance.

In 1896, a temporary wooden convention hall was erected on the south lawn of City Hall. It housed the Republican conclave which nominated William McKinley for his first term as president.