Center City

PNB Building (left) in the Philadelphia skyline. Photo by Thomas Koloski

Looking at the PNB Building at One South Broad Street in Center City

The PNB Building at One South Broad Street in Center City was originally built as a massive addition to the Wanamaker’s at 1300 Market Street, just to the west of the department store. The building was originally called the Lincoln-Liberty Building, though today the structure is known as One South Broad. The 465,000-square-foot building stands 28 stories tall and rises to a height of 478 feet. The tower was designed by John Torrey Windrim, who also designed the Franklin Institute, which was completed in 1934. The building features a wide profile from the east and west and a setbacked crown that steps up to a bell tower that holds the 17-ton Founder’s Bell. The tower’ cornerstone was placed on October 1, 1931, shortly before the nearby Wanamaker Men’s Store opened over a week later on October 12, 1932.

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Philadelphia skyline 1975 south elevation. Image and models by Thomas Koloski

Philadelphia YIMBY Presents Massing Renderings of the 1975 Skyline

In the 1970s the Philadelphia skyline was on the rise, with bulky new office towers being constructed throughout Center City. At this time, the “Gentlemen’s Agreement” was untouched, as every structure stood below the height of the statue of William Penn at the top of City Hall. New high-rises were adding substantial amounts of office space and dominated the previous structures that stood out in the skyline, and featured various designs with stone, metal, and glass cladding. Philadelphia YIMBY presents massing renderings of the skyline as it stood in 1975, when Brutalist architecture dominated much of the financial district, including the area around City Hall.

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Riverwalk south and north from a garage looking east. Photo by Thomas Koloski

GIANT Supermarket Opens at Riverwalk North Tower in Center City West

The large GIANT supermarket located on the first two levels of the Riverwalk north tower at 60 North 23rd Street has officially opened, bringing a new shopping hub to Center City West. Designed by Gensler  and developed by PMC Property Group, the tower stands prominent at the Schuylkill River Trail, and the way the façade takes in daylight in a dramatic fashion, with metal cladding manipulating creating different shades. The two-tower project will have 711 units, and the shorter north tower will have 331 units above the podium floors. The tower, which replaces a large parking lot, stands 315 feet tall and 28 stories above ground.

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Philadelphia skyline 1985 south elevation. Image and models by Thomas Koloski

Philadelphia YIMBY Presents Massings of the 1985 Skyline

In the mid-1980s, the Philadelphia skyline rose as an even, roughly 500-foot plateau, particularly when viewed from the north and south. Though the skyline spanned a great expanse length-wise, it remained at a low profile, in great part thanks to the “Gentlemen’s Agreement” to not build above the 548-foot-tall pinnacle of the City Hall, which sat just beneath the 37-foot-tall statue of William Penn, the state’s founder. Philly YIMBY presents exclusive massing renderings of the city skyline just as it appeared in 1985, just before One Commerce Square and One Liberty Place both broke ground, starting their challenge to the skyline in the summer.

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Arthaus rendering. Photo and edit by Thomas Koloski

Arthaus Nears Top of Parapet in Washington Square West, Center City

The Arthaus condominium under construction at 311 South Broad Street in Center City is nearing the very top of the parapet, which will stand at at an impressive height of 542 feet. Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox and developed by Dranoff Properties, the 45-story skyscraper features a bright and modern design. The tower will include 107 units and amenity and retail space on the first four floors, along with green roofs at the top of the podium and at the roof. The building’s design is perfect for the Philadelphia skyline as the tower keeps a blocky profile while changing form as it steps up to a square crown, with the metal cladding thickening around the edges as it opens up on the glass faces to have thinner metal run vertical up the tower with spaces dividing the rows.

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