Civic Hall first opened in 1956 and during its life it was used as a live music and entertainment venue. The hall has been in disrepair for the past 17 years, with the last function hosted there the Mayor's Ball in 2002.

The restored building is reminiscent of those days. In the foyer, a 1950s painting of the Ballarat coat of arms has been installed alongside the original and a new plaque. The painting was gifted to City of Ballarat by the Save Civic Hall group last year. 

"The new plaque represents the future," Mayor Cr Samantha McIntosh said. 

A collection of historic furniture produced by Mr E. Mannin of 363 Napier St Fitzroy is displayed in the upstairs foyer. There are 14 pieces in the collection. 

"There is a whole collection of furniture upstairs which was gifted to us in 1954 as part of the second Begonia Festival. It has been stored in the Town Hall and has not yet been on display," Cr McIntosh said.

"Given that this particular exhibition was gifted to us in 1954 around the time of Begonia Festival we figured Begonia was the right time to put it out there for everyone to enjoy again. It is the full collection that we have here - there are various pieces in different rooms and even in the bathrooms."

Cr McIntosh said it was an exciting time for the community to be able to reflect on the past and know there is a whole new future yet to be discovered. 

"It is something very special. The community worked very long, hard and loud with the council from the beginning to retain the hall," she said.

"So it's great to have this opportunity now to unveil the hall, which is so beautifully restored and almost identical to what it was and with a beautiful, polished finish."

Cr McIntosh said the council had tried to do a full restoration of the hall.

"The footprint is as it was. It is the largest clear span floor space in any regional hall I'm aware of across the region and it will provide for those beautiful big balls, gatherings and the likes that our community used to have access to. It's a little different to anything else we've seen around." 

Cr McIntosh said the builders had been very conscious of using acoustic treatment so the venue could be used for live music performances.

"It has quite a beautiful sound and a nice resonance. It was exceptionally echoey before but we have used a lot of acoustic panels on the walls to give it a new sound."

The carpet is also brand new but an exact copy of what was there before, while the seating has also been re-upholstered in the same fabric and colours. The original railing on the staircases also remain.