Black and white photo of Old City Hall, with adjoining Masonic Lodge building.
City Hall is a three-story, five-bay, Georgian brick building and the Masonic Lodge to the west is a 2-story brick building with six shuttered windows above open arcades (old market stalls) at ground level. Open-air market sheds are seen at the rear (north).
There are three entrance doors into City Hall at this time. A pedimented entrance door is centered on the south wall and is flanked by shuttered windows, two on each side. A sign that says in part "READING ROOM" hangs from a window on the third floor. There is also a lamp attached to the side of the building next to this sign. There are two window dormers projecting from the roof and a deck with balustrade on the roof top.
The gable end of the building faces east (to the right) and at street level, has two doors flanking a central shuttered window. The left door is surmounted with a sign: "POST OFFICE". Above the 3-bay fenestration is a rosette window.
There is iron fencing along the west side of building and both sides are lined with nine tree sapling with protective enclosures. Projecting into W. King St.. perhaps from the building opposite the Masonic Lodge, is a roofed, open air market stall or ??. A vertical sign at its corner reads: "SADDLES."
The photo is mounted in an oak frame with a carved foliate patterns around the perimeter.
This photo is also pictured in Jack Loose's book The Heritage of Lancaster on pages 57 & 88. He dates the photo circa 1860, after the courthouse on the square was razed (in 1853) and the newer market sheds of 1854 near the rear of the building.
Small marks overall, including several short scratches along the bottom that may have occurred during development. The dark areas of the photo take on a silvery-blue-gold hue when looked at from a certain angle.
Some pieces of the frame are missing, at the upper and lower right corners, and about 2.5 inches up from the lower right corner.
