Site history
The original Willoughby Town Hall was built on the Civic Place site in 1903. The hall doubled as the Council Chambers, and offices were later added. An administration building was built in 1967. The original hall was demolished in 1972 and replaced with the former hall. It was designed as a multipurpose hall, and was ‘state of the art’ in its day.
The custom-built Chatswood library was opened in 1977 after years of preparation and support from the Willoughby School of Arts. The library became very popular quickly, and in the early 1990s began to outgrow its space. In 1994 the State Library Building Consultant reported that the library would need to be three times its size to cope with future demand.
In 1997 the Council office building was moved to 31 Victor Street to help make way for the site’s redevelopment. In order to consolidate the site, 219, 415 and 421-423 Victoria Avenue and 25 Anderson Street were purchased to enlarge the site for a new cultural centre.