The principal, south western façade of the School of Arts, which addresses Kent Street, is symmetrically arranged and employs classical proportion and detailing.

[1] By 1860 the local community had decided upon the erection of a School of Arts, where technical classes could be held for adults and provision made for a public library.

In January of the following year it was reported that the Queensland Government had granted a site to the Committee for the erection of their building, describes as Allotment 4 on Section 85 containing an area of two roods.

The land granted was in Kent Street where the current School of Arts building stands, opposite the early police and justice reserve.

[1] The foundation stone was laid on 5 February 1861 by Gilbert Eliott, the newly elected member for Wide Bay in the Queensland Legislative Assembly.

On 17 October 1861 the building was officially opened with the hope that it would "be the first of a number of links which would unite all classes for the common good, it was a place where all could meet without distinction."

The building constructed was of brick with a steeply pitched gabled roof and ornamental bargeboard, symmetrically arranged with a central entrance and simple flat arched window openings.

[1] The building constructed was a substantial tw- storeyed rendered brick structure with a classically inspired facade reflecting the cultural and educational aspirations of the institution.

Many public buildings constructed since the Renaissance employed elements of classical architecture to imbue the structure with a sense of tradition and authority.

The principal facade of the Maryborough School of Arts employs classical proportion and symmetry as well as detailing like the round arched windows of the first floor, oculi openings above the ground floor windows, entablature surmounted by central triangular pediment flanked by acroteria, as well as a system of projecting pilasters and rustication encouraging a three dimensional quality.

In a lengthy report on Maryborough in 1895, the Sydney Mail, described the School of Arts as the "lion of the town" to which "every visitor is duty bound to go over...and admire...with fervour.

Glass cabinets were fixed in the foyer and reading room and an extensive collection was amassed including timber and mineral samples, works of art and examples of taxidermy.

[1] The next major alteration occurred in 1907 when Bundaberg architect, Frederic Herbert Faircloth was commissioned to design a gallery in the library of the School of Arts.

Renovation projects were undertaken at the School of Arts from the 1910s and the building became used as offices for various local community bodies, including the Country Women's Association and the Grammarians Recreation Club.

During the World War II the School of Arts was resumed by the Government for use by the Australian Comforts Fund when extra bathroom facilities were added.

In 1949 the Australian Broadcasting Company (ABC) and the Engineering Section of the Post Master General's Department (PMG) moved into the first floor.

[1] The Maryborough School of Arts is a substantial two storeyed masonry building, prominently located on Kent Street adjacent to the new City Council Chambers and opposite the 1906 Town Hall.

The site contains the building constructed to the line of the footpath with a two storeyed timber framed verandah to the south east covering a driveway to an open space at the rear.

[1] The principal, south western facade of the School of Arts, which addresses Kent Street, is symmetrically arranged and employs classical proportion and detailing.

Flanking the entrance, in the recesses formed by the rusticated pilasters, are two square arched openings surmounted by oculi with decorative mouldings joining the two windows.

At first floor level are five, equally sized, round arched openings, in the recesses of the attached columns, with sills resting on blank balustraded panels.

The engaged columns support an entablature which acts as a parapet, with a central projecting panel featuring the words, "SCHOOL OF ARTS".

[1] On the ground level of the School of Arts, through a door on the north west side of the central hall is the early library of the building, now used by a local historical society.

This large room, extending almost the full length of the building, has a timber gallery, which seems to be suspended with iron rods from roof beams, to which access is provided via a steep and narrow stair.

The building, a public facility for over one hundred years and the forerunner to the current municipal library and technical college, has special importance to the local community.

The building, a public facility for over one hundred years and the forerunner to the current municipal library and technical college, has special importance to the local community.