The hall was constructed between September, 1883 and June 1884 and went over-budget by double the original estimate. East London was in severe financial trouble at this point and amalgamated with the City of London in 1885. The former town hall housed on part of the main floor Fire Station No.2 until it moved to Florence Street in 1946.

Since its construction, Aeolian Town Hall has seen a number of interesting uses. The Ninth Divisional Court was held here in the 1880?s and 1890?s. Around the turn of the twentieth century, outdoor concerts and plays were held in the evenings on stages and in tents behind the building. These events were often paid for by traveling herb doctors who used these occasions to give sales pitches on their so-called "cure-all" herbs. From 1888 to 1890 there was a branch public school at the Hall. In 1901, Samuel Francis Wood had a workshop at the Hall and later became president of the Hobbs Hardware Company and the Hobbs Manufacturing Company.