Marischal College was one of the two universities in Aberdeen between 1593 and 1860, alongside King's College, Aberdeen, with which it merged to form the University of Aberdeen in 1860. Its nineteenth-century building, first constructed between 1837 and 1844 and substantially extended between 1893 and 1906, has served since 2011 as the headquarters of Aberdeen City Council. Today, it provides corporate office space and public access to services, adjacent to the Town House, the city's historic seat of local government. It is the second largest granite building in the world.