Standing on Maple Square in Forgar, the Walteshalle was completed in 1028 in the first construction wave of the Cities. There is some debate as to its planned function - it was originally a corn warehouse though this may have been intended to be temporary - but was soon adopted by Forgar Council for their town hall. The Waltheshalle, in common with a number of other Forgar buildings, was designed by a northern architect and from he derives its Noriscan appearance and name. Made of a rather unappealing combination of bricks and granite, it is a large building meant to intimidate. A huge stained-glass rose window, which illuminates the first floor council chambers, dominates the facade; a series of alcoves containing statues run up the building. The Walteshalle was badly designed in the fire of 1177 which destroyed much of eastern Forgar. It was rebuilt theoretically on the same lines, but that rebuilding work has often been subsequently questioned. A series of problems plagued the building, and council meetings were frequently interrupted by the constant repair work. Forgar Council finally gave up on it and built their new and controversially expensive headquarters Farlingdale House, moving in 1324. The Walteshalle was then taken over by first a finance house, then a textile firm. Both were founded with great fanfares and trumpets and both went bankrupt in rapid time even for the Cities. The building thus got the reputation of a jinx. It currently stands empty and rivals the Serpent Laboratory site as being Forgar's biggest eyesore. Occupied by a large number of squatters, its ownership is a tortured mass of complications which is keeping many different lawyers in business. With the structural stability very questionable (exacerbated by further cack-handed renovation work carried out by the textile works) there's a good chance that gravity will decide its final fate.