The sandstone building was constructed between 1911 and 1914, when it replaced the old town hall of Schöneberg, at that time an independent city (German: Stadtkreis) not yet incorporated into Greater Berlin, which took place in 1920.
As a "temporary" measure the barely repaired Rathaus Schöneberg on Rudolph-Wilde-Platz became the city hall for West Berlin.
During the Berlin Blockade, the Uprising of 1953, and the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, Rudolph-Wilde-Platz in front of the building became a gathering place for protest rallies.
Upon the 2001 Berlin administrative reform, Rathaus Schöneberg became the town hall for the newly constituted borough of Tempelhof-Schöneberg.
It was also the permanent home to an exhibition of the life of Willy Brandt (1913–1992), Mayor of West Berlin from 1957 to 1966 and Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany 1969–74.