High-rise

Philadelphia City Hall. Photo by Thomas Koloski

Looking at Philadelphia City Hall in Center City

The Philadelphia City Hall, located at 1400 John F. Kennedy Boulevard in Center City, is an astonishing 548-foot tall structure that was completed in 1901 (though occupation first started in 1877) at the intersection of Market Street and Broad Street. The nine-story structure is the world’s tallest freestanding masonry building and has a lovely Second Empire style architecture (also known as Napoleon III style), with the municipal floors and the clock tower decked out with decorative cornices and pillars. The building was designed by John McArthur Jr. and Thomas Ustick Walter. McArthur has also designed the First National Bank and Walter was the fourth architect of the Capitol building in Washington DC, having designed the Capitol dome on top of the Capitol Building.

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2222 Market Street. Credit: Gensler

Tower Crane Erected At 2222 Market Street In Center City

A tower crane has been erected at 2222 Market Street in Center City West. Designed by Gensler and developed by Parkway Commercial Properties, the tower will rise 318 feet and 20 stories tall, making it one of the tallest structures in the area. Its stacked-box design will allow it to stand out at its prominent location on Market Street. A mixture of glass and stone materials grants the tower a modern façade that, toegther with new public outdoor space, will liven up the stretch of Market Street.

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Drexel College of Nursing and Health Professions at 3601 Filbert Street. Rendering via Wexford Science & Technology LLC

Structure Nearly Complete at Drexel College of Nursing and Health Professions in University City, West Philadelphia

Structural framing continues to progress at the Drexel College of Nursing and Health Professions, a high-rise building that is a part of the 14-acre uCity Square development in University City, West Philadelphia. Designed by Ballinger and developed by Wexford Science and Technology LLC, the tower will rise 12 stories and 185 feet tall. The building will yield 174,000 square feet of space and will feature a combination of office and classroom space and will help extend Drexel University’s campus farther west.

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300 North Christopher Columbus Boulevard. Image by Handel Architects

New Renderings Released for 300 North Christopher Columbus Boulevard in Northern Liberties

New renderings have been released for 300 North Columbus Boulevard via a Civic Design Review submission, giving an updated look at the high-rise that will stand just to the north of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge. The structure will rise 28 stories and 316 feet tall, and will be located on the north side of the Old City neighborhood, near the boundary of Center City and Northern Liberties to the north, where several projects underway and many proposals have been revealed. The building was designed by Handel Architects, which had also designed the 805-foot Madison House at 15 East 30th Street in New York City. The project is being developed by The Durst Organization, which is also developing the massive Penn’s Landing Redevelopment just to the south of the Ben Franklin Bridge.

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

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

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.

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