Municipal Building – Alliance NE

Description

The historic Alliance Municipal Building was constructed between March 1936 and April 1937 with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA provided a $78,189 grant for the project, whose total cost was $178,625.

PWA Docket No. NE [W]1079

In August 1935, the Alliance City Council took steps toward securing a new municipal building for Alliance. The council hired Omaha architectural firm John Latenser and Sons to draw plans for the new building, and encouraged the city to file an application with the Public Works Administration (PWA) for a free federal grant of $67,500.00 toward the building’s construction.

A $100,000.00 bond issue to support the new municipal building was scheduled for October 23, 1935. In anticipation of a positive result from the bond election, the federal government notified the city that the government’s share of the project, $78,750.00, had been approved. By requirement of the PWA, construction would have to commence by December 10, 1935. The bond issue passed on October 23rd, thus enabling the project pending council approval of a location for the site. On November 5th, the Alliance Times & Herald announced that the city council had selected the southwest corner of Fourth and Laramie. The building would face east and north and site directly across the street from the city library.

The Alliance Municipal Building, like the one in Columbus, is a combination city hall, fire station and city auditorium. It was formally dedicated during a week in April 1937. The festivities featured a “home-talent revue” during the formal dedication on Wednesday, a concert by the Chadron State Teachers College Glee Club on Thursday, and on Friday and Saturday nights, the district music contest events. Sunday evening, union church services were held in the auditorium.

Henry Knutzen of Kearney was the contractor for the new building. The fire station adjoins the auditorium, but is kept entirely separate from it, cut off from the auditorium so no fire alarms could disturb auditorium crowds.