2021City Council Centenary (1921-2021) - Set

The City Hall, seat of the City Council (formed in 1921), was originally a private mansion built in 1815 by Aaron Cardozo, an influential Gibraltarian merchant. As a non-Protestant, Cardozo was not legally allowed to own property in Gibraltar but as a close friend of Lord Nelson who had supplied his fleet, Cardozo was eventually granted a site to build a house that was to be ‘an ornament’ to John Mackintosh Square at a cost of about £40,000. After Cardozo’s death, the mansion was leased to John Ansaldo to become the Club House Hotel from 1839-1875. Ansaldo actively advertised the hotel by publishing the arrivals of anybody of any note who happened to be staying. Commercial travellers offered all sorts of expensive imports and well known Pall Mall tailors would stay at the hotel adding to its generally upmarket credentials. In 1868, the Gibraltar Jockey Club was founded on the premises. In 1874 the building was bought and extensively refurbished by Gibraltar-born Pablo Antonio Larios, a wealthy businessman and banker.