At the southwest end of Kennedy Plaza, 25 Dorrance Street, your Providence City Hall has run the city's municipal government since 1878. This building was constructed between 1875 and 1878 and was designed by Samuel J. F. Thayer in the Second Empire style. In 1975 the building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and it remains a contributing structure to the broader Downtown Providence Historic District.
But city government here had humbler quarters. Upon the city's incorporation in 1832 most city business was conducted at the Market House. The City Council, the Mayor's Office, and the Board of Aldermen were located on the Market House's second floor; as the city grew they spread to the third floor and eventually took over the entire building, which became known simply as the "City Building." Even that wasn't enough, and in 1845 the City Council resolved to create a permanent municipal building. The community then spent the next 30 years searching for a suitable location, in part because half the Council votes were on the east side of the Providence River and half were on the west.
Notice the façade, then picture Kennedy Plaza stretching toward the Providence River.