Andrea Doremus Cuetara is among the people in the Elections Department at City Hall this morning, waiting for the recount to begin in the race for the fourth at-large seat on the city council - in which Julia Mejia and Alejandra St. Guillen are current separated by less than ten votes.

It's not as if we all haven't known since the September primaries that come Jan. 2, Althea Garrison would replace Ayanna Pressley on the City Council.

And yet, as one roving UHub photographer discovered today, it seemed like a huge surprise at City Hall. He reports Garrison, her new chief of staff and some friends made their way up to the fifth floor at 12:30 p.m. - as somebody at City Hall told them to - only: Read more.

They've turned on these red ceiling lights over the atrium in Boston City Hall, and as I type this post at a table there, my laptop keyboard is bathed in red light and I keep wondering when it will burst into flames.

Down in the basement of Boston City Hall, near an ATM and the entrance to the men's room, is a set of newspaper racks for Boston's free weekly newspapers - including an old Phoenix rack now used by the Dig.

Molly Lanzarotta reports volunteers at City Hall were busy today packing up donations for shipment to Houston. NECN reports they're looking for donations of packing tape and boxes.

In 1976, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip let bygones be bygones and visited Boston as part of the Revolution bicentennial. The British Consulate in Boston has posted some photos from the visit, including one of Gov. Dukakis welcoming the Queen at Logan Airport and this one of Mayor White bringing her into Boston City Hall.

On July 11, Prince Phillip presented an eagle statue to the Bostonian Society: Read more.

Today is the anniversary of the 1962 selection of the design, by architects Gerhard Kallmann, Noel McKinnell and Edward Knowles for the crate Faneuil Hall came in Boston City Hall.

The Boston City Archives has posted photos of mockups of some of the losing designs. Think any were better?

CORRECTION: The kiosk will be behind City Hall's security checkpoints; ye ed needs to learn to follow dotted lines on diagrams better.

The mayor's office today announced plans to seek an operator for a new, permanent coffee kiosk in City Hall for people who somehow miss the Starbucks, Dunkin' Donuts and Boston News Cafe on City Hall Plaza. Read more.

Jocelyn reports that around 6 p.m., the line to vote at Boston City Hall went way outside onto City Hall Plaza and around the building.

Adam Castiglioni shows us Boston City Hall with one of its new nighttime lighting configurations.