Stratford City Hall, Town hall in Stratford, Ontario, Canada

Stratford City Hall is a red-brick building in Jacobean style situated on a triangular civic square at the center of the business district. The structure features a clock tower rising from a circular base, with other sections built on dodecagonal and hexagonal foundations.

A fire destroyed the original town hall in 1897, leading architects George W. King and J.W. Siddall to design a replacement in Jacobean style. The new building was completed in 1900 and became the city's response to rebuilding after this disaster.

Two terracotta seals flank the main entrance, mounted in pilasters: one shows a train for industry, the other a beehive for enterprise. The building has been used on the cover of a Parks Canada book about Canadian town halls, and architect Robert Fairfield, designer of the Stratford Festival Theatre, called it a "splendid municipal building".

The building stands on a clearly visible triangular plaza in the heart of the downtown area, making it straightforward to locate. You can walk around the exterior freely to observe the architectural details and the geometric shapes that define each section.

The exterior brick was meant to be buff-coloured, but a local brickyard over-fired its white bricks, so the dark red seen today was the third choice. The main entrance is flanked by two terracotta seals, one showing a train for industry and the other a beehive for enterprise.