civic center

American  

noun

1. a building complex housing a theater or theaters for the performing arts and sometimes exhibition halls, a museum, etc., and usually constructed or maintained by municipal funds.

2. a building or building complex containing a municipality's administrative offices, various departmental headquarters, courts, etc., and sometimes an auditorium, libraries, or other community or cultural facilities.

3. a theater, meeting hall, or the like for community or public use.

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Etymology

Origin of civic center

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

When the olive green charter bus pulled into the suburban civic center in a conservative area east of Cincinnati just after 9 p.m. on Friday, the women were ready.

From Salon

In 2021, the city started Right to Return, a pilot affordable housing initiative for residents who were forcibly removed due to the construction of the I-10 freeway and the civic center.

From Los Angeles Times

On weekdays, the lunch and happy hour crowds tend to be city and county workers from the nearby civic center.

From Los Angeles Times

“A civic center is more than a collection of buildings,” Rosenfeld said.

From Los Angeles Times

After a couple of minutes, it lifted off heading for an immense plume of smoke billowing above the civic center.

From Los Angeles Times