Comcast Center

Arthaus and Center City towers from the I-95. Photo by Thomas Koloski

Toward the Blue Yonder: Comparing Views from the Tallest Skyscrapers on the Philadelphia Skyline

High-rise development offer numerous advantages, including efficient use of valuable urban real estate, environmental benefits through resource use economies of scale and conservation of land, and dense, transit-friendly and pedestrian-favorable environments that create thriving cities. Then, of course, there are the lofty views that are available to dwellers of sky-high aeries. Using the formula of D = 1.22459 x Sqrt (H + 5.58), where D equals distance and H stands for the height of the building’s highest floor and 5.58 represents 5′-7″, the height of the average US adult in feet, we can calculate the longest unobstructed view distances on a clear day from any building level. Today YIMBY offers a comparison of views and view distances from the highest floors of some of the tallest buildings on the Philadelphia skyline.

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Comcast Center (right) in the Philadelphia skyline. Photo by Thomas Koloski

Looking Back at the Comcast Center, Philadelphia’s Former Tallest Skyscraper

The Comcast Center at 1701 John F. Kennedy Boulevard is the first of a two-tower complex, which had drastically changed the Center City skyline when it passed the height of One Liberty Place, becoming Philadelphia’s tallest building. The structure was completed in 2008 and stands 974 feet and 58 stories tall, with a concrete core and steel floors. The exterior features high quality, mirror-like glass, a departure from the traditional masonry style that Robert A.M. Stern Architects is known for, as seen in limestone-clad towers such as The Alexander at 1601 Vine Street and 30 Park Place in New York City.

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