File:City Hall Harry Funk.jpg

Summary

Harry B. Funk built this City Hall building at 31 A Street in 1910. His son John B. Funk built the replacement City Hall on the same location in 1948. The building was most recently home to the Brunswick Police Department.

Because the police department has operated out of both locations off and on for over 100 years, there were jail cells in both iterations of City Hall on this location. Today, the jail cells function as storage rooms.

It's believed that City Hall operated from the homes of the mayors prior to that time.

According to James Robert Castle: The 1890s minute books state the meetings were conducted at the Town Office although never stating where that was located. The room was described as having a large table that the Mayor and Council sat around and chairs in the room for the public to view the proceedings. The meeting would recess to hear from the public and then continue. Never was the public to interject into the proceedings.

As an aside, on a Sanborn map of Berlin is a building that shows “jail cell” in rear of building. I sometimes wonder if that was the Town office prior to 1910. The dates certainly match.

(Photo courtesy of Bruce Funk)