The City Hall took 3 years to build and was opened on the 9th of September 1873 by Mayor Alderman Matthew Thompson. This original building was 70 feet high and 275 feet long, City Hall’s most notable feature is the magnificent clock tower that soars 220 feet above the skyline. The City Hall clock tower is Italianate, inspired by the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence. It has 13 bells which were installed at a cost of £5,000. The total weight of the bells is 17 tons.