civic center

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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of civic center¹

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

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.

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

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

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

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But a civic center isn’t just a commercial destination.

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