Balls as in dances. Not just a big room full of balls. It's no accident that this building bears a resemblance to Faneuil Hall in Boston. It was common architecture for markets at the time. Private houses didn't have the space for large numbers of people, so these buildings combined open space for a market, with closed-in space for the upper crust to have fancy parties. After the Revolutionary War ended, this building was the first home of the Supreme Court. Its first session began on February 2, 1790. It didn't stay here for long however, and moved to Philadelphia in 1791.