One Meridian Plaza was a 492-foot-tall, 38-story skyscraper that used to stand on the current site of the Residences at Ritz Carlton and the W/Element Hotel at 1416 South Penn Square in Center City, across from City Hall. The building began construction in 1968 and opened in 1972, just a decade before the development of the 1980’s skyscraper boom. Designed by Vincent and Kling and Associates and developed by Girard Bank and Fidelity Mutual Life Insurance, the tower was extensively damaged by a fatal fire in 1991 and demolished in 1999.
Philadelphia skyline three months before the groundbreaking of One Liberty Place. Photo from Philadelphia Daily News
The exterior of the skyscraper was composed of a granite curtain wall and dark glass that rose from floor to ceiling, with rows of granite running horizontally along the floor plates. The north face of the tower faced the plaza to the west of City Hall, and a slender strip of the east face connected to the 394-foot Girard Trust Building. The west face of the building also featured windows, but the bland south face featured a blank wall. The roof that held two helipads.
One Meridian Plaza on fire. Image from The Arizona Republic
Just three months after the Shops at Liberty Place opened, a fire started at One Meridian Plaza at the 22nd floor on February 23, 1991. The fire, which was first reported at 8:23 PM, was caused by an oil rag left in a vacant office that was being renovated. The rag generated heat from oxidization and sparked a flame, which spread to multiple floors and charred most of the the exterior to the roof. The 12-alarm fire was declared contained by 3:01 PM the next day, after claiming the lives of three firefighters: Phyllis McAllister, James A. Chappell, and Captain David P. Holcombe.
One Meridian Plaza just before demolition in the Philadelphia skyline. Photo by Bradley Maule
During the fire, there were fears of the building collapsing, but the structure remained stable during the entire event. In the aftermath, investigators found that the floor beams had sagged and melted, which was a particularly dangerous condition since the floors were filled with asbestos. For a time there were plans to renovate or demolish and rebuild entirely the top 20 stories, but plans were settled for demolition after numerous delays and lawsuits. In 1995, a Cornel crane was erected on the roof and the structure was demolished floor by floor and was completely torn down by the end of 1999.
One Meridian Plaza nearly demolished in November 1999. Photo from The Times Leader
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A super tall would have been better than two separate buildings close to each othrr.
Many people don’t remember when this building opened who are online but when it did it was considered quite modern; at the time it was the 2nd to 3rd tallest building in Philadelphia; now by 2021 standards it wouldn’t stick out on the skyline much at all. The city has reached for the sky in extraordinary ways that didn’t seem possible then.
This building did not have sprinklers throughout but had been added to floors 30, 31 34, and 35 when renovated. The fire spread unimpeded until it hit floor 30 and stopped. This building showed that sprinklers can save a building and has been used as an example to change building codes to require sprinklers.
This building was only on site of Ritz-Carlton residences
Nice point made above – glad to hear that something positive came out of this tragedy.
I can remember the view (which felt like it lasted for years) of the beautiful architecture of City Hall sitting side by side with an office building that was literally boarded up on the upper floors. The dispute with the insurance companies lasted forever and so there it sat.
Yes I remember this worked on it before demolition, All the people that had jobs in the building there personal things (photos ECT.) Where frozen in time. We were searched by security everyday to make sure nothing was removed, I seen the floors where the fire started the steel was like twisted bacon and was amazed it was still standing up. And the 3 firefighters that lost their lives doing their jobs. Never forget them ,,,,,,