[5] The foundation stone (behind the left-hand lion as you approach the building) was laid by Alderman Herbert Bowles (Chairman of the Estates Committee), on 17 March 1927.

[13] The Council House and Exchange Buildings (to the rear) are constructed of Portland stone from the same quarry used by Sir Christopher Wren for St. Paul's Cathedral in London.

[14] The terrace overlooking the Old Market Square has eight massive columns, above which, are 21 figures representing the activities of the council, also modelled by Joseph Else FRBS, the Principal of the Nottingham School of Art from 1923 to 1939.

The clock mechanism contains a pendulum 13 feet (4.0 m) long with a period of 4 seconds, and the movement is controlled by a double three-legged gravity escapement.

Retailing space was included in the design to fund the corporation's construction of the building, during the Great Depression and remained under council control until sold in 1985 and redeveloped as a shopping centre.

Each shop has its own basement showroom or storage facilities, deliveries being made via an underground roadway, served by a vehicular lift on Cheapside.

The locations of those lights can still be seen, marked by the 1985-vintage terracotta tile strips which replaced them, interspersed between the York stone paving slabs.

The inscription around the base of the dome reads: "The Corporation of Nottingham erected this building for counsel and welcome, and to show merchandise and crafts".

In June 2018 Nottingham City Council finished a complete restoration of the damaged murals in a process which took about three months.

Else was responsible for the famous lions guarding the entrance, for the frieze above the Ballroom windows (representing ancient local industries such as bellfounding and alabaster) and for the figures in the principal façade's pediment (depicting the arts and public service).

[15] Created by Joseph Else, the two art-deco lions each weigh 2 tonnes (2.0 t) and stand guard on either side of the entrance steps.

"Not much can be said in defence of this kind of neo-Baroque display at a date when the Stockholm Town Hall was complete and a style congenial to the C20 established.