[1][2][3] The first floor in the building's early years housed stalls used by farmers to sell agricultural products.

[1] Also known as Military Hall,[1] the building's simple gable appearance was modified in 1833, to plans made the previous year by Charles Quincy Clapp.

Clapp updated the building to the Greek Revival style by removing the cupola from the roof and adding a portico to the front.

[2] The cupola was reinstalled on the Universalist school house (now Alumni Hall on the University of New England campus)[4] in Portland's Deering neighborhood.

[5] The new building was the site of the 1855 Portland Rum Riot, which involved mayor Neal Dow and led to one death.