Conversations about building a new Santa Clara city hall and where it should be aren’t new in the city.

Back in the early 1950s, the city started talking about building a new city hall in the downtown, where the 1914 city hall stood, but the proposal for a 7-story building set off predictable controversy.

By 1957, Santa Clara had reached for the shiny object of the time, urban renewal, and in the spirit of “out with the old and in with the new,” the city council approved plans to build a new city hall as part of the El Camino Civic Center.

Along the way, opposition from business and community groups threatened lawsuits and accusations of “backroom dealing” risked derailing the modernizers. But the champion of Santa Clara’s urban renewal plan, then-city manager Lloyd Brady, was undeterred and bulldozed every obstacle.

When opening day arrived on Leap Day — Feb. 29, 1964 — there was nothing but general delight at the “modern mission” style building.

The Feb. 19 Santa Clara Journal predicted it was likely to be “the best attended municipal event in Santa Clara’s history.” Anticipated crowd sizes as the date approached ran from 2,200 to 5,000. The day before, the San José Evening News had settled on a considerably more modest forecast: 1,500. The Journal published a special insert for the event.

According to the tour script [See: City Hall Dedication Guided Tour Script February 29 1964 below] prepared for the day, the 23-acre site cost $305,976 and construction alone cost $1,459,000; not counting furnishings, some of it manufactured by San Quentin inmates. The 75,000 sq. ft. building was financed by the city’s water and electric utility revenues as well as sales taxes.

The ceremony was a 2.5-hour civic pageant [See: City Hall Civic Center Santa Clara Dedication Program Feb 29 1964 below] that modern sensibilities would find difficult to endure. Mayor Frank Keller welcomed the guests. Master of Ceremonies Superior Judge Joseph Kelly introduced 325 local dignitaries, according to the Santa Clara Journal. The event cost $3,500 — about $38,000 in today’s dollars.

State Senator Edwin J. Regan of Weaverville gave the keynote, substituting for New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller, after a scheduling conflict emerged. The Native Sons of the Golden West and the American Legion took part, “Miss Santa Clara” Carolyn Huff helped host tours of the new building, and the Wilcox High School band provided music.

Also on hand were members of the former councils credited with buying the land and pushing construction through: Gene Burgess, Maurice Dullea, William P. Kiely Sr., Al Levin, Ed Moore, A. John Nastari, W.J. Nicholson, Joseph Rebeiro, Victor Salberg, Robert H. Simons, Anthony Toledo, James Viso, and Austen Warburton — all invited, the Evening News noted, “to take a bow for their foresightedness.”

Almost stealing the show was sculptor Benny Bufano’s 7-story “Universal Child” monument, “Though uncompleted,” the Journal wrote, “its monumental size is certain to attract attention.” So, Santa Clara did get a 7-story structure; it just wasn’t city hall.

Mary Hanel, former local history librarian, contributed research to this story.