Oakland City Hall is the seat of government for the city of Oakland, California. The current building was completed in 1914, and replaced a prior building that stood on what is now Frank H. Ogawa Plaza. Standing at the height of 320 feet, it was the first high-rise government building in the United States. At the time it was built, it was also the tallest building west of the Mississippi River.
The building was designed by New York-based architecture firm Palmer & Hornbostel in 1910, after winning a nationwide design competition. The building, constructed in the Beaux-Arts style, resembles a \"rectangular wedding cake\". It consists of three tiers. The bottom tier serves the foundation. It is three-story tall and houses the mayor's office, the city council chamber, hearing rooms, and a police station with a firing range below in the basement. The thinner second tier follows; it is a ten-story tall office tower. The top floor of this section houses a 36-cell jail with an outdoor yard that has gone unused since the 1960s. Above the second tier is the two-story tall podium with a clock tower on top.