[10] Their design, selected from 256 entries by a jury of prominent architects and businessmen, departed from the more conventional designs of most of the other entries (typified by pure geometrical forms clad with sleek curtain walls) to introduce an articulated structure that expressed the internal functions of the buildings in rugged, cantilevered concrete forms.

[citation needed] At a time when monumentality was typically considered an appropriate attribute for governmental architecture, the architects sought to create a bold statement of modern civic democracy, placed within the historic city of Boston.

While the architects looked to precedents by Le Corbusier, especially the monastery of Sainte Marie de La Tourette, with its cantilevered upper floors, exposed concrete structure, and a similar interpretation of public and private spaces, they also drew from the example of Medieval and Renaissance Italian town halls and public spaces, as well as from the bold granite structures of 19th-century Boston (including Alexander Parris' Quincy Market immediately to the east).

The lowest portion of the building, the brick-faced base, which is partially built into a hillside, consists of four levels of the departments of city government, where the public has wide access.

The large scale and the protrusion of these interior spaces on the outside, instead of being buried deep within the building, reveal the important public functions to the passers-by and are intended to create a visual and symbolic connection between the city and its government.

The effect is of a small city of concrete-sheltered structures cantilevered above the plaza: large forms that house important civic activities.

The upper stories contain the city's office space, which are used by civil servants not visited frequently by the public, such as the administrative and planning departments.

Security concerns caused city officials in recent years to block access to the courtyard and the outdoor stairways to Congress Street and the plaza.

Arguments for and against continued use of the structure provoke strong counter-arguments from politicians, local press, design professionals, and the general public.

[16] Representative of the contemporary praise was the opinion of The New York Times critic Ada Louise Huxtable, who wrote that "in this focal building Boston sought, and got, excellence.

Traditionalists who long for a revival of Bulfinch simply do not realize that one does not achieve a handsome monster either by enlarging, or endlessly multiplying, the attractive elements of smaller structures.

In the AIA Guide to Boston, Susan and Michael Southworth wrote that "the award-winning City Hall had established its architect's reputation and inspired similar buildings across the nation.

Architecture critic Ada Louise Huxtable wrote an article published in The Wall Street Journal[23] in which she contrasted the poor treatment of Boston City Hall with Yale University's recent sympathetic restoration of its similarly challenging Brutalist landmark, the Art and Architecture Building by architect Paul Rudolph.

In 2009 a major exhibition of the original design drawings for City Hall, now part of the archive of Historic New England, was mounted at the Wentworth Institute of Technology.

[24] In 2015, Boston Globe columnist Dante Ramos wrote that "if we see the enduring value in Heroic-era architecture, we can also hope for a measure of boldness — and recognize the downside of being too timid.

[28] In an essay written during the anniversary year, architect Aaron Betsky wrote that City Hall "is one of the last concrete examples of government willing to fight for what it thinks is right, which is, or should be, or common good.

"[29] City Hall is so ugly that its insane upside-down wedding-cake columns and windswept plaza distract from the building's true offense.

Popular news media considers City Hall the "world's ugliest building", including the Boston Globe and the Telegraph.

[citation needed] Following the September 11 attacks, the environment changed from what had been intended as a civil center and community space on the stairways and plaza around the building as public access was sharply reduced by the erection of security barriers and closing of numerous entrances.

[34] The structure's complex interior spaces and sometimes-confusing floor plan have not been mitigated by quality wayfinding, signage, graphics or lighting.

[36] A number of news outlets picked up that moniker, and Mayor Tom Menino adopted it during his long tenure as a boon to tourism.

Although its recessed fountain, trees, and umbrella-shaded tables drew crowds in its early years, the space has more recently been cited as problematic in terms of design and urban planning.

"[46] On the other hand, in 2009, The Cultural Landscape Foundation included City Hall Plaza as one of 13 national "Marvels of Modernism" in its exhibition and publication.

[59][60] The Getty Foundation awarded Boston a grant of $120,000 in 2017 to study ways to preserve and enhance City Hall and its plaza.

The Foundation noted "a shift in public sentiment" in recent years, "with many residents now embracing the site as a key feature of the city fabric.

A huge crowd in the plaza also greeted Queen Elizabeth II during her 1976 Bicentennial visit, as she walked from the Old State House to City Hall to have lunch with the Mayor.