During late 1891, the arrival of electricity in St. Charles and the construction of a City Hall were the topics of great interest and debate. In January 1892, Charles Haines, a local businessman and former Mayor, presented the city of St. Charles with a parcel of land at Second and Main Streets. He gave the land on one condition--that a city hall be built upon it. Eventually, city officials and citizens decided that the land offered was not suitable for a building as important as the city hall. And so, in February 1892, Mayor Arthur A. Bennet received instructions to buy a 60' x 67' lot from Bela Hunt for $1,500. Bennet, who had just come into office in 1891, was a native of Vermont who came to St. Charles in 1886 to serve as general manager of the National Sugar Milk Company.

Although the city had been incorporated in 1874, city meetings had been held in rented buildings. Citizens desired a building of importance for city officials and the mayors. After purchasing the aforementioned plot from Bela Hunt, construction began on the building which was to serve as the center of municipal activity. F. W. Alexander built the building for $5,496. From 1931-33, during the height of the Great Depression, Mayor Ival G. Langum operated a soup kitchen for unemployed residents. The building remained the site of administrative business until the adjacent Municipal Building was finished in 1940. After this point in time, this Romanesque Revival building housed city offices, the fire department, circuit courts, the meter department, and maintenance equipment.

Citizens of the late 19th century also wanted to have access to electricity--especially electric light--a luxury that was most desirable on St. Charles' Streets, and in its homes and businesses. The possibility of electrical lights and of St. Charles providing its own electricity were questions that the city put to its citizens in late 1891. By January 1892, both questions had been settled: electricity would come to St. Charles and the city would provide it. The City Hall served as the base for the electric utility until 1924 when the city's capacity to generate the electricity had been reached. Buying energy from a private company became the only viable option. In the 1940s the city began purchasing electricity from Commonwealth Edison. Today, the city continues to buy electricity from Com Ed and to maintain the service with city employees.

Before this building reached its 100th birthday in 1992 it faced an uncertain future. Although the Old City Building has a rich history, city officials during the late 1970s began to mull over the possibility of razing the building rather than restoring it. By this point in time, the building was deteriorating. Thanks to the foresight of Historical Society members and the building's placement on the National Register of Historic Places, the Old City Building remains standing today. In 1996, the building was covered with foam insulation and dryvit in order to preserve the bricks.