[1] Following significant population growth, largely associated with the status of Portobello as a seaside resort, the area became a burgh in 1833.

It was designed by Robert Paterson in the Scottish baronial style, built in rubble masonry at a cost of £5,000, and was completed in autumn 1878.

[3] The design involved a symmetrical main frontage of three bays facing onto Portobello High Street.

[1] The building ceased to be the local seat of government when the burgh of Portobello was annexed by the City of Edinburgh in 1896.

[5][6] It went on to serve as a public library[7] but, by the late 1950s, the building was considered unfit for purpose and was criticized for being dirty, dark and overcrowded.