1735 Market Street

BNY Mellon Center future lobby. Image via Silverstein Properties

Lobby Renovations Underway at BNY Mellon Center at 1735 Market Street in Center City

At the time when the Liberty Place project was proposed in Center City, other developers scrambled to join Philadelphia’s skyline race to top the Statue of William Penn atop City Hall. At 1735 Market Street, the skyscraper formerly dubbed Mellon Bank Center, now known as BNY Mellon Center, has long been a major fixture of the Philadelphia skyline. The project, which started to rise in 1987, rises to a height of 824 feet, with a 792-foot-high roof, and 54 stories. The tower was designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox and developed by CommonWealth REIT. Silverstein Properties, the owners of the World Trade Center in New York City, purchased the property in 2019 for $451.6 million; renovations were later announced for the tower.

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Mellon Bank Center crown. Photo by Thomas Koloski

A Look at the BNY Mellon Center at 1735 Market Street in Center City

The Center City skyline had drastically changed in the late 1980s with the construction of newly approved skyscrapers standing over the former, informal 548-foot height limit established by City Hall. In late 1990, Mellon Bank Center, located at 1735 Market Street in Center City, joined the skyline with its bright materials alongside the other new, amazingly designed skyscrapers. The tower stands 54 stories above the ground with a total height of 824 feet to the tip of the crown and a roof height of 792 feet. The skyscraper was designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox, which is currently constructing Arthaus a few blocks to the south of City Hall. The tower is owned by Silverstein Properties, which also owns the World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan. The building received a name change for a branding initiative, and is now called the BNY Mellon Center.

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Mellon Bank Center. Photo via Elizabeth Day Art & Architectural Illustration

A Look at the Former, Taller Iteration of Mellon Bank Center, Center City

The 824-foot Mellon Bank Center at 1735 Market Street was completed in 1990. Originally, the tower had a similar design yet with a taller shape and several other  differences. Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox and developed by CommonWealth REIT, the tower would have stood 880 feet tall and would have featured projecting floor space at the corners up to an estimated height of 400 feet. The crown would have also appeared more skeletal than it looks today. Stone patterns all around the base are different.

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