[1] Following significant population growth, largely associated with fishing industry, civic leaders decided to commission a public hall for Scalloway.

[4] The design involved a main block of three bays, with a circular entrance tower to the right, facing south onto Berry Road.

At roof level, there was a square metal tower with a slate base and clock faces, surmounted by a weather vane.

[1] During the Second World War, when Scalloway accommodated the headquarters of the Shetland bus, part of the Norwegian resistance against the German occupation, the public hall operated as a 100-bed hospital for use by soldiers and evacuees from Norway.

[12] Performers have included Jarvis Cocker and Candida Doyle from the rock band, Pulp, who appeared at a function in August 2023.