The building was constructed between 1773 and 1775[2] and designed by prominent local architects, Joseph Brown and Declaration of Independence signer Stephen Hopkins.

Similar buildings existed in other American cities, such as Faneuil Hall in Boston and the Old Brick Market in Newport.

[2] With the exception of the building's eastern end, the first floor of is surrounded on all sides by a series of large round arches that originally formed an arcade.

[2] In August 1771, a petition signed by a number of townspeople was presented to the General Assembly, asking for a market house.

The General Assembly raised funds through a lottery to erect a building in a location proposed by David Bucklin.

[2] Almost immediately, Market House became the center of civic life in Providence, Rhode Island, due to its central location at the east end of the Weybosset Bridge.

[3] A pair of plaques on the exterior wall marks the highest water levels reached during the Great Storm of 1815 and the Hurricane of 1938.