Philadelphia City Hall
City Hall was completed in 1901 by an architect named, John McArthur Jr. The building is 548 feet tall and due to a gentlemen's agreement that a building cannot be taller than City Hall, the building remained Philadelphia's tallest building from its completion to 1987 when it was surpassed by One Liberty Place. Its original purpose was to serve as the city's house of government and it still is. This municipal building is the largest building in the United States of America. On top of City Hall, there is a statue of William Penn, the city's founder. It is the largest statue to reside on top of a building. There have been times where City Hall was in danger of being destroyed. "Calls for the demolition of City Hall began when it was less than 20 years old and persisted for decades. Sitting astride the main intersection of the city, it was seen as an impediment to traffic, 'an ugly monstrosity which sooner or later must come down,' in the words of one city councilman." (Marsh) Bill Marsh writes this in his article for the New York Times. Though this threat often occurs, City Hall is here to stay.
One Liberty Place
This building was the first building to be able to surpass City Hall in height. It stands at 945 feet tall and was completed in 1987. It was designed by Helmut Jahn. Its purpose was and still is to house big companies and their businesses. Because the building beat out the gentleman's agreement, it had become something quite remarkable for Philadelphia. In an article posted in 1990, "Perhaps the best thing that can be said for the old 'gentleman's agreement' is that by the time Philadelphia was ready to build really tall buildings, post-modern architecture had come into vogue. Each new addition to the skyline has a distinct personality." This reflects on the glorious pride of Philadelphia to continue onward and advance in a literal vertical direction.
Comcast Center
This is the mother load of all buildings in Philadelphia. The Comcast Center is a whopping 975 foot tall building completed in 2008 by Robert A. M. Stern Architects. It is also the fifteenth tallest buildings in the United States of America. This is currently the tallest building in Philadelphia and serves as the headquarters for the cable company, Comcast. Thomas Hines writes in an article, "The most thrilling part of the new tower the company occupies is the sign on the front whose stainless steel letters say 'Comcast Center' in a rounded typeface, similar to the one that spells 'Change' for Obama." (Hines) This gives off an idea of ingenuity and development. Philadelphia has always continued to grow and with this building, the rise upward journeys on.
These are the three tallest buildings in Philadelphia. They are all shown in movies when the setting is Philadelphia because they represent the majesty of a proud city. They tower over the city and show that improvement is possible and ingenuity does not die over time. The message is that Philadelphia can stand its own against big cities such as New York. And it can continue to grow and remain a proud city. Modernity is the culmination of staying with the present. I believe with a city growing upward, it stays current and with the times. Architecture is used in films to set the location and also to show where society is at the moment. Is it poor? Is it flowing with success? The immense heights of these buildings represent the city's eager wanting for more ingenuity and growth. Philly will only grow even taller.
Works Cited:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/25/arts/design/25hall.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
http://articles.philly.com/1990-11-13/news/25927264_1_new-shopping-area-liberty-place-city-hall
http://www.phillymag.com/articles/60-second-critic-architecture-comcast-center/
- Kevin Nguyen
