Guelph's Old City Hall, on Carden Street near the Speed River, is a handsome mid-Victorian building in the city's characteristic limestone, with Italianate detailing and a prominent clock tower. It served as the seat of city government for over 150 years and is now a National Historic Site of Canada. The building is no longer used for government purposes but remains in use for community events and contains some interpretive material about Guelph's history.
The surrounding block, with the river and the covered market nearby, represents the original core of the city as planned by John Galt when he founded it in 1827. The limestone streetscape around Old City Hall is among the best-preserved Victorian commercial precincts in southwestern Ontario, and the building itself anchors the whole composition.