It was designed by Robert Alexander Bryden in the Scottish baronial style, built in schist stone at a cost of £4,000, and was officially opened on 25 June 1874.

[3] During the Second World War, the burgh hall was used as a centre to administer the allocation of homes for 1,000 evacuee children from Glasgow.

[6] The burgh hall ceased to be the local seat of government when the enlarged Argyll District Council was formed in 1975.

[9][b] The trust initiated an extensive programme of refurbishment works to convert the building into an arts and culture hub.

[13][14] A stone carving on the building's Hanover Street elevation features the initials of Robert Leslie Smith, provost of Dunoon.