Huntsville’s new “100-year city hall” brought Tuesday crowds that filled a downtown Huntsville intersection and nearby sidewalks for its ribbon cutting and tours.

Mayor Tommy Battle said Huntsville was the fourth-largest city in Alabama when plans began for the new building. Today, Huntsville is the largest. But going from “fourth largest to largest is not as important as being one of the best cities in Alabama,” Battle said.

Despite the city’s growth and milestones, city employees in the old municipal building “were still working out of a building that leaked rain on our heads throughout the offices and most of the corridors,” Battle said.