meat market was designed by george r. johnson in 1879. an emigrant from edmonton, london, johnson was chosen to design the new market because of his experience in designing the former victoria meat market. he was also the architect of hotham town hall (known now as melbourne town hall) and civic buildings, where william reynolds, said to be the moving spirit behind the building of meat market, officiated as mayor in 1878. johnson later went on to design a score of other buildings in the area, and designed modifications on meat market's layout before dying en route to melbourne from died of blood poisoning in 1898. with six shareholders of the former victoria meat market and two others, influential trader william reynolds formed the metropolitan meat market company with a view to building on land on the corner of courtney and blackwood streets. ornamentations in the venue include reynolds as the bewhiskered figure whose modeled head appears over the courtney street inside entrance doors, and the 1874 in the pediment above the blackwood street entrance is the foundation date of the victoria meat market company.