The city hall is an ancient building type, its origins found at least as far back as the classical Greek bouleutrion, the assembly chamber of the city-state. In medieval Europe the city hall took on a number of auxiliary spaces that complemented the council chamber, such as market halls, office spaces, and social rooms. Some, such as the Palazzo Pubblico in Siena or the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, celebrated the corporate identity of the independent city with soaring towers and instructive works of art. As cities grew in size and administrative complexity, their city halls grew ever larger and assumed a prominence in the urban form of their cities that rivaled only the greatest sacred edifices. By the end of the 19th century, enormous piles, such as Alfred Waterhouse’s Manchester Town Hall (1867–77) and John McArthur’s Philadelphia City Hall (1871–1901), marked the seats of municipal authority with complex historical allusions and equally convoluted silhouettes. At the be...