[5] It was designed by R & R Dickson in the neoclassical style, built at a cost of £3,260 from ashlar stone brought from Craigleith Quarry and completed in spring 1829.

The first floor featured tall sash windows and the second floor small square sash windows flanked by Ionic order columns (for the middle bays) and Doric order pilasters (for the outer bays) supporting a large entablature with a frieze inscribed "Erected by the Magistrates and Masters / MDCCCXXVIII".

[5] A painting by Alexander Carse, depicting the arrival of King George IV at Leith Docks during his visit to Scotland in 1822, was hung in the new council chamber.

[5] The town hall was extended to the east along Queen Charlotte Street by the acquisition and conversion of a section of terraced housing, to a design by James Simpson, in 1868.

[1] The town hall ceased to be the local seat of government when the burgh of Leith was annexed by the City of Edinburgh in 1920.