[3] In 1752, lottery proceeds funded the building of a town hall and courthouse on the site, designed by local gentlemen.

[4] In 1817, a new three-story brick building was built along Royal Street, including a clock tower designed by Benjamin Henry Latrobe.

The original city hall was something of a complex, containing the Masonic Lodge, court facility, and both the principal police and fire stations of Alexandria.

[4] Market stalls were once situated on the first floors of+ the west and north wings and in the courtyard which are absent today.

Another local architect, Benjamin F. Price, provided a plan for replicating the original Latrobe steeple and its estimated cost of $8,000 was paid for by private donors, notably John B.

The Alexandria Fire Company, once located in the southwest corner, vacated the building and opened the way for the expansion of the police headquarters and prisoner detention cells on the first floor.

[3] Interior renovation of the vacated space then commenced and a second Court Room was established on the second floor with additional offices.

[3] It is an open, landscaped plaza with a central fountain, built as part of the Gadsby Commercial Urban Renewal Project.

Alexandria City Hall consists of masonry bearing walls with cast-iron columns, supporting the wood ceiling and floor joists.

[4] The central clock tower, unlike the rest of the roofing, is still in the original diamond pattern slate, crowned by a gold leaf finial and weather vane.

The tower has a square rusticated brick base and is structured in three tiers, with the main entry door on the west facade.

[4] The tower is supported by two cast-iron columns with Corinthian capitals; above the clock is a smaller octagonal tier with eight narrow windows, enclosed by a wooden balustrade.

Some of the pilasters originally contained stove flues and were topped by brick chimneys, but these no longer exist.

[4] In 1967, the Gadsby Commercial Urban Renewal Project brought about the reorientation of the City Hall towards the southern facade with the new entrance facing King Street and Market Square.