GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) — A new survey has declared that Green Bay City Hall is Wisconsin’s ugliest public building, and is the 33rd ugliest public building in the nation.
New Jersey Real Estate Network surveyed just over 3 thousand people on buildings like state capitols, post offices, court buildings and city halls. They say the results highlight a “variety of concrete-heavy, boxy, and occasionally brutalist designs.”
An official statement from the survey on Green Bay City Hall reads:
Green Bay’s City Hall keeps a low profile, with a straightforward brick design and traditional layout. It’s steady and practical, though architecturally it doesn’t reach far. A touch more civic character could help it feel like more of a city centerpiece.
Green Bay Mayor Eric Genrich says he and the staff at city hall got a kick out of the ranking; and that while city hall may soon need an update of its systems, the outside structure holds up pretty well.
“I don’t know how qualified this random group out of New Jersey is to put the ranking together,” said Genrich with a laugh. “But [Green Bay City Hall is] a simple building; a humble building. I think in a way it’s reflective of our sensibilities in Green Bay. We’re not real ostentatious, but it’s served the city well for about 70 years.”
City hall was built in 1956 after the former city hall building was burned beyond repair in a fire.
“This was sort of the style in the mid-fifties, so not a lot of bells and whistles but it serves us well,” added Genrich.
The Wisconsin Historical Society says the architectural firm of Foeller, Schober, Berners, and Jahn “was responsible for the contemporary, box-like style design of the building, and very few interior and even fewer exterior changes have been made since its completion. The building retains an exceptionally high degree of integrity.”
Green Bay City Hall is the only building in Wisconsin that made the national list. You can see the top 100 ugliest public buildings in the nation by clicking here.
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