ABSTRACT
The City Hall, a crucial feature of the European transformation of social space and of the emergence of urban modernity, 1 did not always represent civic identity, especially when situated in a colonial context. In the colony, the City Hall enacted practices that contradicted its ideal form as an institution of civic pride. There is thus a discrepancy of meaning between the City Hall in Europe and that in the colony even though they refer to the same building type and even though they might share an architectural style. An essay about the City Hall could therefore not be anything other than an inquiry into power relations within a specific context.
