🏛️🚨 Toronto’s Old City Hall: Drama, Design, and Hidden Secrets!

In North America, "City Hall" screams government power, even in tiny towns—unlike China’s (shìzhèngtīng). Toronto’s Old City Hall? It’s the third iteration! 🔥👮♂️ Generations of Drama: Gen 1: Burned down near St. Lawrence Market. Oops! Gen 2: Crammed above a police station. Cozy? Gen 3: No more half-assing! By 1899, Toronto was booming, and bureaucracy needed a palace. 🎨💸 Enter the Architect: Edward James Lennox was hired. His wild vision? Blew the 600kbudgetto 2.5M (CAD$53M today!). Took 3 years, but look at it—North America’s largest City Hall! Soaring clock tower, stained glass that’ll make your camera weep, and those stairs? 👌✨ 😈🗿 The Sneaky Stone Carvings: Check the door pillars! Those 24 grotesque faces? They’re the council members who opposed Lennox’s $210k commission after he busted the budget. Carved in secret… and nobody noticed for 10 years. 🤫🤣 ⏳⚖️ Short-Lived Glory: Used from 1899 to 1965 (just 66 years). Now? It’s a courthouse. My roommate warned me off the second floor—“No trespassing!” 😮💨 Guess I’ll stick to… safer adventures. #TorontoHistory #OldCityHallSecrets #BoredButCautious