City Hall

First erected as the New Bedford Free Public Library in 1858, the building known today as City Hall was designed by architect Solomon E. Keaton and completed in 1858. Much of the library's initial collection came from private lenders and home libraries. This included a rare and valuable original folio of John James Audobon's Birds of America, donated by James Arnold. In 1906, the library was relocated and the building became Town Hall after the original building, today's New Bedford Free Public Library, was destroyed by fire.

Information courtesy A Picture History of New Bedford, Volume 1