Inaugurated in August 1888 by Queen Victoria, the first council meeting was held within the buildings in October 1889. The building originally had an area of 5016 square metres. The building is an interpretation of Renaissance Classicism incorporating Italianate styles with a vast range of ornate decoration, used to express the wealth and industrial export-led economic prosperity of the Second City of the Empire. The exterior sculpture, by James Alexander Ewing, included the central Jubilee Pediment as its centrepiece. The Pediment celebrated Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee. The grandest room in the Chambers is the Banqueting Hall.