In 1928, the site became home to the Ohio Theatre, and the current Columbus City Hall opened nearby.

The Columbus municipal government established its first permanent offices at the Central Market, operating from its second floor from 1850 to 1872.

James Thurber, later known for his cartoons, was covering the City Council meeting as a Columbus Dispatch reporter.

[7] The crowds reportedly had few regrets or tears, and a general attitude of "good riddance" to its destruction among the public and city officials.

It was the third public structure to burn in recent months, after the city prison and a more minor fire at the Columbus State Hospital.

[1] Records lost in the building's fire reportedly included those on the Franklin Park Conservatory, making much of its early history unknown.

[9] News from four days after the fire claimed all valuable documents and records were saved, though the Children's Playhouse Project was affected.

[1] Though the origin of the fire was undetermined by this point, three theories existed: it could have been started from blowtorches left in the building's cupola by workers who were repairing the roof, one of which was found atop charred timber in the wreckage.

The building utilized dark cream-colored Amherst sandstone for its exterior walls, and had a steep roof with two pitches, both covered in blue Vermont slate.

[12] Initially seen as a perfect example of Gothic Revival architecture, it later grew a reputation as unsatisfactory for a city hall.

[12] At its opening, the west side of the first floor also held the city's post office, a space including a separate fireproof room.

The left or east side housed the city's first public library, a glass-divided room which opened on March 4, 1873.

[16] In 1906, the reading room moved to a separate building across from the Ohio Statehouse,[14] and by 1907 to the Main Library, where it remains today.