Anchoring the eighteenth-century village of Framingham Centre, Village Hall on the Common is surrounded by a tree-lined historic common, museums, beautiful churches, and gracious homes. This dramatic Greek Revival building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Once the center of Framingham’s civic and cultural life, it is now an event venue with all of the modern conveniences.
The Village Hall was constructed in 1834 to the designs of Solomon Willard, designer of the Bunker Hill Monument, and Dexter Hemenway as the Town’s second town hall. Built by Dexter Esty, it contained offices, school rooms, the first public library space and meeting space.
By 1891, town functions had outgrown the space. A decade later, the Framingham Improvement Association (FIA) was formed and designated to maintain building. Charles M. Baker, a local architect, carried out a “restoration” project which appears to have significantly reorganized the building, with a new entrance in a new portico facing the Centre Common to the north, a sweeping double staircase and renovations to the upper meeting room. A handsome terrace with granite balustrade with a Beaux Arts “thermum” motif was constructed between the Village Hall and the Common in 1913. In 1916-17, the ceiling in the ballroom was removed to “to expose the Old Oak Trusses” and new stage and dressing rooms were added. A fire damaged the roof and walls in 1920, and in 1934, Charles Baker donated plans and supervision of the repair work.
The Village Hall today is an unusual mix of historic features and later additions, reflecting the building’s long use by the community and the rich history of the Centre Common on which it stands.
For information on renting the Village Hall on the Common, call Rental Coordinator Kathy Hauck at 508-827-2880 or email kathy@framinghamhistory.org.