[2] In late summer 1870, the final plans for City Hall construction were made by Andrewartha, who was named managing architect, and architectural firm C.L.

Stancliff and Co.[2] The remaining government buildings were demolished before ground was broken on the city hall in 1870.

Designs on the building represented the city's outlook in the post-Civil War era, which was very optimistic.

The pediment over the main entrance features a relief of the city seal and a train steaming forward past Southern flora with the inscription, "Progress, 1871".

Other engravings, over the tympana of the side windows, depict livestock heads, representing the importance of agriculture in Louisville's early history.

The most prominent feature is the 195-foot four-faced clock tower with mansard roof, not completed until 1876 after an earlier one burned in 1875.