Designed by architect Sir Robert Rowand Anderson, it was funded by philanthropist William McEwan at a total cost of £115,000 (approx.

After several years of further negotiations, philanthropist William McEwan—politician and owner of Fountain Brewery—offered to provide more than £100,000 to build the hall, as long as the university could find funds to buy the designated site.

[5] The interior with its striking dome, finished in 1897, is built in Italian Renaissance-style, and features murals by painter William Mainwaring Palin.

[7] In 2015 the hall and nearby Bristo Square closed for refurbishment and reopened in time for the July 2017 graduations at a projected cost of £35 million.

Today, McEwan Hall is used for all university graduations, but also lectures and public talks, some Edinburgh Festival Fringe events, and organ recitals.