[2] After a period of rapid population expansion associated with the growth of the Ravenscraig steelworks, civic leaders decided to procure a purpose-built civic centre: the site selected at the corner of Airbles Road and Windmillhill Street had previously been occupied by residential properties with a public house on the corner itself.

[6] The main frontage of the civic centre, facing on Windmillhill Street (today part of the A721 road), featured continuous stone facing panels above and below a continuous row of windows on six floors with a separate council chamber jutting out to the east of the main structure: the design also included a multi-purpose concert hall and theatre which was built to the west of the civic centre and was part financed by the Scottish Arts Council.

[15] A comprehensive programme of refurbishment works to the concert hall and theatre, costing £6 million, was completed in November 2011.

[16] The Civic Centre was designed a Category B listed building by Historic Environment Scotland in December 2020.

[1] In December 2024, it was confirmed that the Civic Theatre and Concert hall building, which had been closed since September 2023 due to the potential risk of collapse associated with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete in the roof, would cost at least £10 million to repair and it would be demolished instead, with a replacement planned to be built at Ravenscraig.