[1] The first municipal building in Ayr, an old tolbooth which was erected in the middle of the road at the junction of Sandgate and New Bridge Street, was of medieval origin.

The new building was designed by Thomas Hamilton in the neoclassical style, built by Archibald Johnston in ashlar stone at a cost of £9,965 and was completed in November 1830.

[1] The steeple was structured in multiple stages which included a clock, a belfry modelled on the Tower of the Winds in Athens and a spire with a weather vane.

[10][11] A statue of the Indian political leader, Mahatma Gandhi, by the sculptor, Guatam Pal, was presented by the Government of India and unveiled inside the town hall on 14 September 2019.

[12] Works of art in the town hall include a portrait by John Stevens of the former local member of parliament, Lord Patrick Crichton-Stuart.