The Cincinnati City Hall was designed by Samuel Hannaford, an architect who designed many buildings in Cincinnati. The building is in a Richardson Romanesque style and is recognized as the best example the style remaining in Cincinnati. Ground was broken for the city hall on the site of the former city hall on February 27, 1888, the cornerstone was laid August 16, 1888, and the official dedication took place on May 13, 1893. The building is four and a half stories with a nine story clock tower. The stone used in its construction were from quarries in Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, Missouri, Tennessee, Vermont, and Italy. The overall cost of construction was $1,610,000. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972