By noon today, the public consultation on the future of Perth City Hall will be at an end.
The future of the Edwardian building has split the city for almost a decade, with no consensus on its fate.
Perth and Kinross Council believes there is no viable rescuer for the former civic centrepiece and intends to demolish it at a cost of £4 million.
In its place, a civic square would be created in a move that it believes would offer more to Scotland’s newest city.
On Thursday, more than 1,800 individual letters of objection to the proposed demolition were submitted to the council by hall supporters.
The city hall was designed by the celebrated architect Harry Edward Clifford and has been heralded by the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland as “a national treasure”.
The RIAS described demolition as “wanton vandalism”.
Its president Colin Doig urged the council to give the Perth City Market Trust and the Seventy Group the opportunity to prove their respective plans for an upmarket food hall and five-star hotel can work.
Opponents of demolition believe the loss of the hall would be a blow not just for Perth’s heritage, but for Scotland’s architectural legacy.
The letters of objection were delivered to Perth and Kinross Council by members of the Perth City Market Trust, who claim that weeks of campaigning prove the city’s public want to see the hall saved.
The trust’s Margaretha Linacre added: “We have spoken to the people of Perth and have encountered only a handful of people who want demolition.
“I hope these letters of objection will show Historic Scotland the depth of feeling there is about preserving Perth City Hall.”
However, Perthshire Chamber of Commerce chief executive Vicki Unite said: “We are aware the latest proposal for a hotel has been submitted at a very late stage.
“It is, therefore, crucial those behind the hotel plan demonstrate their conviction by making themselves and their financial backers public.”
The final decision is now down to councillors and then, ultimately, Historic Scotland, though no timetable for that process is yet available.