Feature

Future Philadelphia skyline south elevation. Models and image by Thomas Koloski

Philadelphia YIMBY Presents Updated Massings Of The Philadelphia Skyline In The Next Decade

8:00 am on May 12, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

In October of last year, Philadelphia YIMBY published an extensive article covering developments that are under construction and proposed across the city. The visuals illustrated the future of the city’s skyline, coordinated in height in terms of placement of the new projects. Since, several new proposals have been revealed, a number of which will have an impact on the skyline. Today we present an updated version of the future appearance of the Philadelphia skyline.

One Liberty Place elevation and Helmut Jahn. Photo and image via JAHN

As the World Remembers Helmut Jahn, One Liberty Place Lights Up the Skyline

8:00 am on May 10, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

Philadelphia YIMBY often shares exciting and uplifting news regarding the city and its development. However, on May 8th, in Chicago, world-renowned architect Helmut Jahn was tragically killed in a road incident not far from his eponymous firm. According to the press, Jahn was biking near his home, 40 miles away from Chicago, when he was struck by two vehicles and was pronounced dead the next day at 81 years old. The architect was born on January 4, 1940 in Zindorf, Germany, and has designed an incredible amount of buildings between 1974 and 2017. In his lifetime, Jahn has produced unique and awe-inspiring designs throughout the world, which stood out as ahead of their time, and has left a dramatic imprint on the Philadelphia skyline.

Philadelphia YIMBY Presents Massing Renderings of the 1945 Skyline

8:00 am on May 7, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

In the 1940s, development in Philadelphia progressed at a slow pace as over the previous four years the United States of America was engaged in World War II after Japan’s surprise attack on Pear Harbor on December 7, 1941, further slowed down by the Great Depression, which lasted through the 1930s. However, in the preceding decades, many ornate buildings rose into the skyline with fantastic masonry designs. Most of the largest buildings were built around the City Hall in Center City, which created a hub of development when the Second Empire style building was completed in 1901.

Bank of the Southwest Tower in the Houston skyline. Image via Jahn/Murphy, Inc

Looking at the Unbuilt Bank of the Southwest Tower, Houston’s Precursor to One Liberty Place

8:00 am on May 6, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

Before One Liberty Place topped the Philadelphia skyline in 1987, a larger skyscraper, also designed by Helmut Jahn, was proposed in the city of Houston, with a design that featured striking similarities to the future Philadelphia tower. Known as the Bank of the Southwest, the supertall was planned to count 82 floors, with an angled crown capped with a sharp spire that would rise 1,404 feet high. The larger office floors were to have angled cuts on each corner. The firm of Jahn/Murphy, Inc. was chosen after a design contest in 1982 and the tower was projected to be completed by 1986. The tower was cancelled by 1983 due to a lack of funding, but elements of the design were later integrated into the Philadelphia skyscraper.

City Tower model and schematics. Images via Louis I. Kahn

A Look at the Unbuilt City Tower by Louis Kahn in Center City

8:00 am on May 2, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

In the 1950s, Philadelphia was starting to see a rise in new development as developers focused on Center City, particularly after the demolition of the “Chinese Wall” opened up a large swath of space from City Hall to the Schuylkill River. A wild proposal called the City Tower was revealed in the late 1950s at 1400 Arch Street, where the Philadelphia Municipal Services Building currently stands. The 30-story tower would have stood just to the north of City Hall. The tower was designed by Louis I. Kahn in a dramatic Futurist style, as the building’s design and form were way ahead of its time.

Philadelphia YIMBY Presents Massing Renderings Of The 1965 Skyline

8:00 am on April 30, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

In the 1960s, Philadelphia observed a rise in development with ample space available for new buildings in Center City. The William Penn statue at the pinnacle of City Hall still topped the Philadelphia skyline with a height of 548 feet, though it was surrounded by high-rises that stood nearly as tall. Today YIMBY presents massing renderings of the skyline as it appeared in 1965, when a new batch of modern and blocky towers were rising, with still more proposed.

East Market Phase 3. Credit: National Real Estate Development / Ennead Architects / Morris Adjmi / BLTa via CDR

In-Depth Look at East Market Phase 3, a Two-Tower Complex Underway at 1101-53 Chestnut Street in Market East, Center City

8:00 am on April 28, 2021 By Vitali Ogorodnikov

In the late 1980s, in rapid succession, a series of skyscrapers broke through the long-held “Gentlemen’s Agreement” that unofficially restricted Philadelphia’s buildings from rising above the 548-foot-tall pinnacle of City Hall, creating the now-iconic skyline of Center City. While the skyscraper cluster transformed the area to the west of City Hall, the Market East district to the east continues to lag behind in terms of an imposing skyline. However, East Market Phase 3, developed by National Real Estate Development as part of the East Market complex and currently under construction at 1101-53 Chestnut Street, will boost the local skyline with a pair of towers rising 364 and 288 feet tall. The buildings will bring one million square feet of medical office, residential, and retail space to the neighborhood, and add a sizable public plaza. Today we take a detailed look at the transformative project.

The Centennial Tower. Image from Clarke, Reeves and Company

Remembering the Unbuilt Centennial Tower in Fairmount Park, West Philadelphia

8:00 am on April 20, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

During the planning for the Centennial Exposition of 1876, expo organizers put forth a bold proposal for an incredibly tall structure called the Centennial Tower in Fairmount Park, where two buildings still remain from the expo. The tower was planned at 1,000 feet tall, well before any skyscrapers were built in the city. The tower would have risen as large cross-braced tube that slims down at the top, capped with a short cone top and lightning rod, and would have featured four observation levels. The metal structure was designed by Clarke, Reeves and Company, which had also designed an older bridge that stood at then site of the current Girard Avenue Bridge.

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

Philadelphia YIMBY Presents Massings of the 1985 Skyline

8:00 am on April 15, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

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.

Philadelphia's South Street Bridge. Looking northwest. Credit: li2nmd via Wikipedia

The History Behind the South Street Bridge

7:30 am on April 9, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

Many locations offer views of the Philadelphia skyline, yet some spots offer uniquely dramatic vistas that effectively catch the eye and stay etched in one’s mind. South Street is home not only to a popular stretch of retail, restaurants, and markets, but also to the South Street Bridge, which crosses the Schuylkill River and connects Center City and South Philadelphia to University City in West Philadelphia. For over a century, the bridge has offered sweeping skyline views to locals and visitors alike. Today Philadelphia YIMBY looks at the history behind the iconic bridge.

Pages: 1234567891011121314151617

Fetching more...

Feature

What’s happening in your backyard?