Sir John Wilson Town Hall, Stirling Street, Airdrie

This building is the Sir John Wilson Town Hall, constructed in 1912 in Airdrie to a design by John Thomson. It is a two-storey, seven-bay, rectangular classical municipal building with Baroque detailing. The design is organised in a hierarchical arrangement with a slightly advanced central block. The principal facade, facing north, is built of cream sandstone ashlar, with the lower level channelled. Architectural details include a base course, a dividing band between the ground and upper storeys, a moulded cill course to the upper storey, an eaves course, a projecting cornice, a parapet, and a balustrade above the central bays. The side and rear elevations are finished in harled brickwork.

The north elevation features a subtly advanced five-bay central block. A stone staircase leads to a deeply-moulded doorpiece, which features a segmental-arched canopy and the Airdrie coat-of-arms. Flanking pilasters have lion masks carved into their capitals, and husk garland hoodmolds are above the flanking oculi windows. A distyle in antis arrangement—essentially two columns partially recessed between pilasters—defines the central three bays of the upper storey. Corinthian columns and pilasters support a broken pediment bearing the Airdrie coat-of-arms above the central window. Balconies and segmental arched pediments are featured in the flanking bays. A mutuled cornice appears on the central block, and a wreath motif is centred on the parapet, flanked by a balustrade. Small side entrance pavilions are incorporated. Window placement is regular, with taller windows on the upper storey.

The south elevation has two storeys, with three-storey blocks in the outer bays. The east side elevation features two bays with channelled ashlar quoins and an entablature, accompanied by two windows at ground level. To the left is a six-bay section with irregular fenestration. The west side elevation has two bays of squared and snecked sandstone, two windows at ground level, and lower two-storey bays to the right.

Multi-pane glazing is found in timber sash and case windows, and the roof is covered with grey Welsh slate with lead flashing. The building incorporates a steel frame with a lattice girder roof span.

Inside, the entrance is through a panelled two-leaf door leading to a small vestibule, followed by a two-leaf glass and timber door with plasterwork cartouche above. A marble-lined, colonnaded, semicircular lobby contains a portrait of John Wilson, set within an elaborate timber backboard with flanking pilasters and a consoled, segmentally-arched pediment displaying a carved coat-of-arms with a pelican device in the tympanum. The hall features a barrel-vaulted ceiling and a gallery, incorporating a proscenium-arched stage. The interior is richly decorated with swags, wreaths, and pilasters.

Tall, square-section gate piers flank the main entrance. These piers feature swags carved into their entablature, a projecting cornice, and plain coped caps.