“Town Hall” is (for now) the last work in this miniature wooden city. It consists of a miniature wooden building made of red oak with a sloping roof made of black walnut and columns made of a combination of black walnut and red oak. This building rests on a 10”x12” base of what appears to be 1” thick solid black walnut, like the other buildings. The red oak features inlaid black walnut that mimics doors and windows. The red oak and black walnut used are also taken from trees from the Haverford College arboretum. When the three buildings are viewed together or even separately, their shared design features show that they are part of the same miniature city.

Like the other buildings, “Town Hall” has more to it than meets the eye. Like “Smokestacks,” the building detaches from the base, revealing that the building is not solid but hollow; the red oak that makes up the main part of the building is not a solid block but four 1” thick walls. Upon removing the building, one can also see that the base is not solid walnut, but a chessboard made of ¾” squares of alternating red oak and black walnut. Sitting on the board is a full set of chess pieces: the black pieces are made of black walnut and the white of red oak. Each of the 64 squares contains a magnet—after drilling the 64 holes and inserting the 64 magnets, I filled each hole with a plug of wood to completely conceal the magnets. Each chess piece also contains a magnet in its base; glued to each base is a small circle of purple 100% Merino Wool felt that conceals the magnet and allows the pieces to smoothly slide across the chessboard.

Like the other buildings, “Town Hall” blends decoration and function into one work of art and design. Not only is each miniature building in this set a decorative piece of art as well as a functional one, but each piece’s function mimics its real life double—"Smokestacks” emits smoke through the chimneys like a factory, “Compartment Building” imitates an apartment building with its separate identical compartments, and “Town Hall” emulates a government building with its columns, checkered floor, and miniature chess pieces/people inside. I also see the chess pieces and the game of chess itself as a miniature double of the political system that exists in town halls and other governmental buildings.