It follows a roughly square plan, with central projecting sections on each side, and a steeply pitched mansard-style roof with turret-like sections at the building corners.

The front entry, facing Lowell Street, projects further than the others, with stairs leading to a recessed doorway sheltered by a portico supported by columns and pilasters.

In 1946, due to structural weaknesses the auditorium was ordered closed by state officials, and city council moved into the large hall downstairs.

[2] In 1980 the building was restored, and city council moved back upstairs into the newly renamed Frank L. Wiggin Auditorium, and the police department moved to its own building, the former space being taken over by other government offices.

This article about a National Register of Historic Places listing in Essex County, Massachusetts, is a stub.