Vincent and Kling and Associates

During the 1960s and 1970s, multiple developments with massive amounts of office space, occupied by banking firms in particular, were constructed in Center City Philadelphia. Most of these developments featured a light brown Brutalist exterior with contrasting dark glass. Among the first such structures built was One Meridian Plaza, located at 1416 South Penn Square, which stood 492 feet and 38 stories. Designed by Vincent Kling & Associates (later known as KlingStubbins, now part of JACOBS) and developed by the Girard Bank and Fidelity Mutual Life Insurance, the tower started construction in 1968 and was completed in 1972, and featured the light brown stone cladding commonly seen during the period, along with rows of dark glass leading up to the bay windows at the top. The skyscraper eventually met its tragic demise in 1991, and was deconstructed in the following years in a process that YIMBY revisits in today’s feature.