The City Hall, Dublin, originally the Royal Exchange, was built between 1769 and 1779 and is a particularly fine example of 18th century architecture. Located at the top of Parliament Street on the city's southside, it stands next to Dublin Castle, the location of British government in Ireland until 1922.
City government had originally been located in the mediæval Tholstel one quarter of a mile away. In the 1850s, the City Corporation bought the Royal Exchange and converted it for use by city government. The building was restored to its eighteenth century appearance at the begininning of the twenty-first century.
Most Dublin Corporation staff are located in the new and controversial Civic Offices, built on the site of a national monument, the viking city foundations on Wood Quay. Dublin Corporation itself was renamed in the late 1990s as Dublin City Council. Council meetings take place in City Hall.
