The City Market is an octagonal brick structure, ninety-three feet in diameter. Each side of its ground floor is divided into three arched bays composed of double Romanesque ;style windows, giving the effect of an arcade. Horizontally dividing the exterior walls, and surrounding the entire building is a large metal canopy supported on elaborate iron brackets. Above the canopy on each side are three arched windows which have been bricked in. The cornice line features corbeled brick; crowning the hipped roof is a low octagonal cupola containing louvered arched windows...
The land on which the City Market stands was given in trust in 1806 by Robert Balling, an early, affluent merchant who intended that it should always be used for a market. Built in 1878-79, the present market building is the fourth to have been built on this site, the first having been constructed in 1787.
The market building is an unusually fine example of an urban architectural form which is fast disappearing. Its octagonal shape and well-handled details give the market a distinction rarely found in such utilitarian structures. As a still functioning institution, the city market remains as a landmark of an important aspect of American culture.
The building is owned by the City of Petersburg and is very well maintained. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1969.