Located at the northern end of the central business, the Colfax Municipal Building towers above its neighbors, its dominating presence a testimony to its central role in village life. Designed by Eau Claire architect Carl Volkman, the municipal building was completed in 1916. The city chose to use locally quarried "Colfax sandstone," provided by one of the community's most important early twentieth century industries.

The Colfax Municipal Building reflects the popularity of multipurpose municipal buildings in Wisconsin communities. As city services grew, local government buildings expanded to reflect the increased responsibilities of local government and its role in the social life of the community. The municipal building was designed with typical spaces for the police station, the fire station, and meetings of the village council, but also incorporated spaces for social and educational use, such as the public library, an auditorium, and a banquet hall. It continues to serve part of its social function, as the library still operates in the building. Social events in the auditorium were discontinued in 2001, and in the use of the basement banquet hall ended in 1998.

This imposing two-story building rests on a raised basement of rock-faced ashlar. A parapet hides the asphalt-shingled, hip-with-deck roof. The municipal building displays the influence of the Beaux-Arts in the boxy form with parapet, hip-with-deck roof; in the symmetrical composition of the front façade; in its stone ashlar construction; and its raised basement. The municipal building exhibits very little ornament, and its decorative flourishes confined to the entrance tower and the parapet, suggest the influence of the Lake Gothic Revival style.

The Colfax Municipal Building is open to the public during regular hours of operation.