City Hall, Old

The cornerstone of Hayward’s first permanent City Hall was laid on May 17, 1930. The $100,000 structure concentrated all city departments in a single location. The only construction snag was when work crews had to dig 12 feet deeper than anticipated to lay the foundation for the building’s front steps. Finding only loose rock, the lack of a sound surface for the hall’s foundation was blamed on the Hayward fault.

The hall served as the seat of local government for 30 years until fault creep warranted its closure, and municipal offices moved to the civic center in the 1970s until that structure, too, was declared seismically unsafe.

In 1989, the Loma Prieta earthquake seriously damaged the interior of the building, forcing its closure. Thanks to the efforts of groups like The Friends of City Hall, a compromise was reached whereby the building’s shell would be preserved, but the interior will probably never be repaired. But we’re fortunate to still have the shell of this fine building.

Although predating the New Deal’s public works projects, construction of the hall provided much-needed jobs during hard times.