Liverpool Town Hall was built between 1749 and 1754 to a design by Wood replacing an earlier town hall nearby. An extension to the north designed by James Wyatt was added in 1785. The ground floor acted as the exchange, and a council room and other offices were on the upper floor. The ground floor had a central courtyard surrounded by Doric colonnades but it was "dark and confined, and the merchants preferred to transact business in the street outside". Following a fire in 1795 the hall was largely rebuilt and the portico and dome were added by James Wyatt who also redesigned the interiors.