In 1869, a new triangular site was purchased, and a competition held for a design to rival the town halls of Leeds and Halifax.

[1] On 14 March 1912 Winston Churchill gave a speech outside the hall in which he called for the people to "go forward together and put these grave matters to the proof" (referring to Irish Home Rule).

[2] In 2000 Barbara Jane Harrison, a flight attendant who died saving her passengers, was commemorated in a memorial display in the City Hall[6] and in October 2006, the building was illuminated for Bradford Festival by artist Patrice Warrener.

[7] In 2007 the City Hall filled in for Manchester Crown Court for the duration of the trial of the character Tracy Barlow in Coronation Street.

There are a series of statues of past monarchs on the façade;[1] the London firm Farmer & Brindley carved them from Cliffe Wood stone, from the local quarry on Bolton Road, at a cost of £63 each.

Due to lack of space in the tower they were not hung for ringing,[13] but were chimed using an automatic carillon machine which could play 28 different tunes.

[14] The original clock and carillon machine were manufactured by Gillett & Bland of Croydon;[15] the bells were by Taylor of Loughborough.

The bells have played "The Star-Spangled Banner" to mark the three minutes' silence for those who died due to terrorism.

This meant that the superintendent had to undertake the long climb up the tower at 10.30 pm every day for a week, as the bell system was still under repair.