When the Borough of Annandale separated from the Municipality of Leichhardt in 1894, the council first met in the Methodist School Hall in Trafalgar street but later leased provisional quarters from September 1894 which were "somewhat inconvenient premises in Johnston street, which were originally intended as dwelling rooms, over a shop.

The site on Johnston Street was eventually chosen by municipal plebiscite for a simple Victorian Free Classical design by architect, J. W. Richards, of Pitt Street, Sydney, and the foundation stone was laid in a ceremony by the Mayoress, Adela Taylor, on 27 May 1899.

During the ceremony, mayor Allen Taylor noted that he was "glad they were not going to erect a palatial structure that would plunge the borough into debt that they might not be able to extricate themselves from" but added that later additions could be made to the structure such as a "town hall, where demonstrations of a political and social character might adequately take place.

At the opening the Evening News described the building thus: "The building stands some distance back from the footpath, leaving sufficient space for the addition of a massive front, and at the rear ample provision has been made for the erection of a large hall at any future time.

On the first floor is the aldermanic meeting chamber, an imposing room, with an open timber roof, and anterooms for the use of the aldermen.