It was designed by architects Calvin Pollard and Gamaliel King in the Greek Revival style, and constructed of Tuckahoe marble under the supervision of superintendent Stephen Haynes.

[2] King preserved many elements of Pollard's original design and intent, including its Greek Revival style, although the project was scaled down in size somewhat.

[4] On February 26, 1895, waste paper caught fire and destroyed the cupola and the statue of Justice that stood atop it,[5] as well as the top floors of the building; water damage ruined the walls and ceiling of the Common Council chamber.

In 1902, the Common Council room was demolished to build a new courtroom, designed in the Beaux-Arts style by Brooklyn architect Axel Hedman.

Starting in the 1930s, there were numerous proposals to raze Borough Hall, based on arguments that it no longer performed any government function, that its architecture was not particularly notable, and that it was a monument to an extremely brief era in Brooklyn's history.