Editing John McArthur Jr (section)

== Reception and Legacy ==

City Hall generated controversy throughout its construction and for decades after completion. Critics attacked the building's cost, its protracted schedule, and its old-fashioned style. By 1901, Second Empire seemed a relic of earlier decades, and modernist critics of the twentieth century found City Hall's elaborate ornament excessive and dishonest. Proposals to demolish the building arose periodically, though the practical difficulties and expense of removal prevented action. The building became something to endure rather than celebrate, an embarrassment that the city lacked will or means to address.<ref name="tatum"/>

Appreciation for City Hall grew during the late twentieth century as preservationists recognized the building's significance and visitors from other cities admired what Philadelphians took for granted. The building's elaborate craftsmanship, impossible to replicate in contemporary conditions, came to seem precious rather than wasteful. The tower observation deck became a tourist attraction, offering panoramic views that only City Hall's height could provide. Today the building is treasured as Philadelphia's most distinctive landmark, its Second Empire grandeur accepted as appropriate expression of civic ambition.<ref name="gallery"/>

John McArthur Jr.'s reputation rests entirely on City Hall, a single building that consumed most of his career and defined his legacy. Whether he should be credited with genius for conceiving so ambitious a design or merely with good fortune for receiving so significant a commission remains debatable. What cannot be denied is the building's impact on Philadelphia: City Hall has shaped the city's identity, anchored its plan, and provided its most recognizable architectural image. McArthur achieved through one building what most architects cannot accomplish through dozens.<ref name="tatum"/>