The fact that Citroen has just arrived in Surabaya from the Netherlands in 1915 and in such a short time received a prestigious project indicated his good business relationship in the colonial Dutch East Indies.

His first proposal for the new City Hall was located at Stadstuin (now Pasar Besar, in front of Tugu Pahlawan).

In 1920, a decision was made to move the City Hall into Ketabang, a new district to the east of the Kali Mas which had been purchased by the municipality of Surabaya with government support.

One of the reasons for the chosen of this location is because of its relative "emptiness" as a new district, which allowed a large plan to be implemented.

The original plan shows four masses of buildings located in the cardinal direction surrounding a central square-shaped courtyard.

[3] Several issues regarding the economic misconduct at the time of crisis (which started in 1921) are several reasons why construction of the City Hall took a long course.

The overall look of Surabaya City Hall is similar with Cubism, with highly contrasting shadows emphasized by the cubic forms on the facade.

Stokvis (an old silver lamp and a painting in the mayor's room), Lindeteves-Stokvis (a fridge), the Dutch Gas Company, etc.