The first part of the building was erected in 1858 as a sub-treasury and assay office which prepared the gold for the gold escort which took it under heavy guard to Melbourne. The post office section was completed in 1862. Adjacent is the town's second courthouse, built to a Romanesque design in 1866-67. Over the road is a grapevine which has survived, remarkably, since the early days of the town's establishment. It was first planted by the aforementioned G.W.H. Grano.
Plans are afoot to beautify the streetscape with more grapevines.
One Tree Hill Lookout Not far past the post office Banfield St heads off to the right. Cathcart Ridge Estate 5 km west of Ararat along the Moyston Rd there is a signposted turnoff into the private driveway of Cathcart Ridge Estate, situated on a ridge overlooking Mount Ararat. A little further along Moyston Rd is another signposted turnoff on the left to the Norval Dam swimming hole where there is swimming, fishing and yabbying. Pinky Point 6 km from the city centre on the Moyston Rd is Pinky Point where Joseph Pollard found the first gold in the Ararat area in 1854. The site is named as the clay was said to have a pinkish hue.