This building was designed by Alfred Hamlin, the son of Cyrus Hamlin, who founded Robert College. It was built with blue limestone quarried on campus, the same stone from which the Rumeli Hisar fortress and Hamlin Hall were constructed. Work began in 1890 and was completed the following year, the first new building on campus since the erection of Hamlin Hall in the years 1869-71. The total cost of the building was $35,000. The Commencement exercises of Robert College were held in the auditorium of this building in 1892, with an audience of nearly 600 people.

The building was known as Science Hall, since it housed the physics and chemistry lecture-rooms and laboratories. At a faculty meeting on 22 November 1904 a decision was made to rename it Albert Long Hall. This was in memory of Professor Albert Long, who had joined the faculty in 1872 as Professor of Natural Science, becoming Vice-President in 1890, and remaining with the College until June 1901, a month before his death.

Originally the auditorium was also used as a chapel, and in 1903 was equipped with an organ, provided by Mrs. F.F. Thompson of New York. This was replaced in 1911 by a larger organ donated by Mr. Cleveland H. Dodge and built by NORMAN & BEARD of England.

After the foundation of Bogazici University in 1971, the building began to be called the Great Assembly Hall and was used as an auditorium and conference and concert hall. Students also referred to the building as"Saatli Bina" or the "Hall with a Clock." After minor repairs undertaken in 1982, the building was used only for conferences and concerts.

In 1999, during the rectorship of Üstün Ergüder, the building went through a major renovation, the cost of which was close to $900,000. The major donor to the project was Istanbul Menkul Kiymetler Borsasi (Istanbul Stock Exchange). Bogazici University Foundation was also instrumental in raising additional funds. Turkcell, and Tekofaks representing Panasonic in Turkey donated the audio-visual systems in the building. The Norman & Beard organ is being restored after a period of silence close to 35 years.

Mr. Rahmi Koç and the workshops attached to his Industry Museum helped reconstruct the original seats of Albert Long Hall, which had been replaced in 1963 with new classroom seats imported at that time from the United States. The seats installed in 1963 are now in the Kriton Curi Conference Room on the ground floor. The replicas of the original seats constructed in the Industry Museum have been installed in the main concert and conference hall. The remaining few originals of these seats that served as models for the replicas may now be found on the balcony of the main conference hall. The cost of reconstructing the seats was met by contributions from many alumni whose names may be found on the seats.

The restoration of Albert Long Hall was made possible with the architectural and technical contributions of the following people and companies. The renovation of the roof and the first proposals on the interior layout were made by Architect Ugur Pehlivan. Architect Barbaros Tosun and Yapi Atolyesi were responsible for the detailed restoration projects and the control of the construction. Architectural consultancy was given by Architect Cavit Sarioglu 71 and his company Metex, with Architect Sinan Kafadar’s valuable contributions. Arup Engineering & Consultancy Services Co. gave technical consultancy services with Ercan Agar 89s valuable contributions. The restoration was made by Artek construction company.