[1] The first town hall in Arles was a medieval building, between to the Palais des Podestats on the Plan de La Cour, and the clock tower, which dated back to the early 16th century.

The masterplan for the site involved erecting a 4th-century Roman obelisk, known as the Obélisque d'Arles, in the square in front of the proposed town hall.

It was designed Jacques Peytret, with technical input from the Parisian architect, Jules Hardouin-Mansart, built by Claude Roux and Charles Troutin in ashlar stone at a cost of 40,000 French livres, and was officially opened on 22 March 1676.

The central bay featured a square headed doorway with a moulded surround; on the first floor, there was a round headed window with a balcony, flanked by pairs of Corinthian order columns supporting a modillioned cornice; on the second floor there was a coat of arms, flanked by pairs of Corinthian order pilasters supporting a triangular pediment with a carving of a sun, the symbol of Louis XIV, in the tympanum.

[8] The vestibule was notable for its shallow vaulting, which was conceived by Hardouin-Mansart and which has been described as "le chef-d'œuvre absolu de la stéréotomie française" ("the absolute masterpiece of French stereotomy").