Original City Hall

Valdosta’s first City Hall was built in 1895 for $15,000.  The City Hall was located on the southeast corner of West Hill Avenue and South Ashley Street.  The facility, with its 70 foot clock tower, pressed brick walls and granite trim, was the “ornament of the town.”  The assembly hall located on the second floor seated 600 people and gave the town a public gathering place.  The building was also Valdosta’s library until 1913, when the Carnegie Library was built (the current home of the Lowndes County Historical Museum)  The first city meeting here was held on  May 11, 1895.  The structure served as Valdosta’s city hall for 63 years.  By 1958 the city government had outgrown this building and moved to new facilities on N. Toombs Street.  It was demolished in the 1960s.

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A Modern Building

A modern style building was constructed in 1958 at 500 North Toombs Street.  City offices were located here until 1970.  This former city hall is now the headquarters of the Valdosta Police Department.  The structure underwent an extensive remodeling in 1997.

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Historic Post Office

Valdosta’s current City Hall at 216 E. Central Avenue was completed in 1910. This Italian Renaissance Revival building originally was a United States Post Office and Courthouse from 1910 until 1968. Designed by the office of James Knox Taylor, Supervising Architect of the U.S. Treasury Department, this four story building features stuccoed masonry, a limestone water-table  limestone columns, wrought-iron balconies, and a hipped terracotta barrel tile roof.

The current post office on North Patterson Street was completed in 1969 to replace the 1910 facility. In 1970, the City of Valdosta purchased the building, and restored it. Sadly, in August of 1987, a burglar set fire to the building.  Luckily, Valdosta firefighters were able to save the landmark.  By late 1988, the city administration was back in the newly refurbished building. It now houses City Council Chambers, as well as the offices of the Mayor, City Manager, City Clerks, and other local government staff.

In 2010 the city of Valdosta commemorated the 100th anniversary of the current City Hall building with a re-dedication. The event also corresponded with celebrations for Valdosta’s sesquicentennial, the 150th anniversary of the city’s founding. The Lowndes County Historical Museum provided a thorough history of Valdosta’s City Hall’s and the former post office in an exhibit that was displayed in the City Hall entrance.