Sounds like an intriguing topic, Kevo.  It reminds me of the major impact that the coffee house had as a kind of institution in the 18th century, transformational in the role of public discourse and communication.  Look at Jurgen Habermas for more on that topic.

Two thousand words is short!  Keep your writing compact.

Good luck!

Yes, 2000 is short! I find it almost harder, but then again its good for me to get into habits of writing concise text! The idea behind this essay is that it will eventually lead onto my thesis where I hope to branch onto analysing European equivalents of Irish Pubs such as the coffee house, and have a paper on city rooms of sorts.

Thanks for the reference, I'm trying to bump up the number of sources I have for my arguement.

Reference coffee shops and cafes as models for the social pub.

By the way, I haven't seen the term "city room" before in this context.  Whose phrase is that?

Another reference: The Great Good Place, Ray Oldenburg, 1989, on "Third Places". (i.e. not home, not work) Not a riveting read, but relevant.

@ citizen,

Well we did a project last year that looked at the Rathaus of Northern Germany. The main point was to look at the council chamber and bring it into a more modern setting. We viewed this room as being a "city room" and one that was completely accessible to the public for functions such as weddings, and also a place which had a political influence on its surrounding area. It sparked my interest in looking at potential Irish equivalents, a place for an event or social gathering, they have similar functions so I thought "city room" would be an appropriate term. That's not really answering your question so in fear of giving you a completely irrelevant answer, I'm going to throw a quick question back at you. What context would you usually associate the term "city room" ?

Interesting...

Actually, the only place I've ever heard the term is in the context of a newspaper office, where the editorial department whose reporters and staff focused on local politics and municipal affairs was called the "city room."  Kind of off the subject, I guess.

I just really like the term, and your proposed use of it.  It reminds me of the use of "outdoor room" to describe the public square or plaza... but it's still not the same thing as you suggest.

What complicates your usage is the fact that "city rooms," while serving a public function of gathering, are actually private spaces whose public accessibility has limits set by business owners.

Part of my interest is in coffeehouses and like places that have become widely popular for some aspects of civic life.  Steven's reference to "third spaces" is key here.

Anyway, great subject matter for folks like us...

My question was just to make sure we were on the same wavelength. But yes, I think your right about third spaces. An intermediate meeting point where the social corrupts both the public and private. I've been conscious of the fact that at the end of the day  that business is the reason why the came into being, I suppose the sense of ownership that the public would have on the place that made me think they are comparable to public squares. The publican is the just authority of what the public might organise. A microcosm of the city...

There are many possible comparisons I think! Need to read more, and write more...and draw lots! Thanks for spawning a bit of thought guys!