 From 1912 to 1917, the state acquired all of the 541 separate properties that comprise the Eighth Ward east of the capitol. The Eighth Ward was situated between the capitol and a set of railroad tracks, then owned by the Pennsylvania Railroad. Arnold Brunner was hired in 1916 to develop new accommodations for state government, which had already outgrown the capitol. He introduced his plan in 1920, which called, first, for the demolition of the Eighth Ward. Brunner planned two office buildings behind the capitol, the North and South Office Buildings, and these were separated by a courtyard he named the People's Court. The South Office Building was completed in 1921. The leveling of the Eighth Ward was finished in 1925.
