In 1967, with the City Building on the Square in great disrepair, interest turned to potentially replacing it.  The city fathers knew two options were impossible without a referendum: making the necessary improvements to the City Building and building a new structure of the same size and scope.  Projections at the time were that any referendums would fail, so the focus turned to constructing a smaller building at a new location to house the city offices and police department.

City officials had several options for a possible location for the building.  Washington State Bank had recently purchased land to construct their new bank west of Wilmor Road on Peoria Street and offered the city 6000 square feet of land for free and additional land at $1 per square foot.  When this proposal was brought up at the city council meeting, Mayor Wallace Asbury prefaced the vote by saying he was "against going out there." Without further discussion, the proposed site was rejected by a 7-1 margin.  The solitary yes vote, Alderman Glenn Plummer, asked why the proposal was eliminated, but he failed to get an explanation.  Other Market, Peoria, and Main Streets sites were considered but deemed too costly.  The land offered by Washington State Bank ended up being the site of the Washington Township building. 

The location eventually decided on for the new city building was 115 West Jefferson.  The property had a house on it at the time, but its greatest advantage was its adjacent proximity to the city waterworks.  In 1968, the city bought the property for $15,000 and razed the house (pictured below). 

City officials and the police department moved into the new building in June 1969 (even though the building still needed to be completed) due to the sale of the City Building on the Square to Standard Oil.  Those first few months of meetings took place with temporary furniture as construction continued.

As part of Washington's Sesquicentennial festivities in 1975, a dedication was unveiled in front of the building, including the fire alarm bell, the William Holland plaque, and a sesquicentennial plaque.  Below are former Mayor Tom Boyd (L) and then-Mayor Ed Habecker at the dedication.

The first renovation of the building occurred in 1984, when the basement police facilities were expanded into a public use room, doubling the department's footprint.

In 2007, as the library moved to Five Points, the City purchased the property at 301 Walnut for $251,000. After pouring over $1 million into renovations, 301 Walnut became the new City Hall, with 115 W. Jefferson remaining solely as the police station.

Both buildings' renovations were finished by 2013. The fire bell and William Holland plaque are now displayed in the Square as part of those renovations.