History

Second scheme of the PSFS Building. Image via George Howe and William Edmond Lescaze

YIMBY Presents Massing Renderings of the Second Design for the PSFS Building

7:30 am on August 3, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

In recent weeks, Philadelphia YIMBY has shared a series of publications on the historic PSFS Building at 1200 Market Street in Market East, Center City. Yesterday we looked in detail at the first iteration of the building designed by architects George Howe and William Lescaze, who partnered in 1929. In this feature, we present massing renderings of the second design. The roof height of the current building stands 491 feet above the ground, which is likely as high as the iterations analyzed here would have also risen.

4021 Haverford Avenue. Looking northwest. Credit: Google Maps

Permits Issued for Seven-Unit Building at 4021 Haverford Avenue in Haverford North, West Philadelphia

7:00 am on August 3, 2021 By Vitali Ogorodnikov

Permits have been issued for the construction of a four-story, seven-unit multi-family building at 4021 Haverford Avenue in Haverford North, West Philadelphia. The development will replace a three-story rowhouse located on the north side of the block between North 40th Street and North Preston Street. The new building will span a ground footprint of 2,413 square feet and will offer 10,134 square feet of interior space, which translates into generously-sized apartments measuring well over 1,000 square feet each. The structure will also feature a basement and full sprinkling. Permits list Mustafa Sencan as the owner and American Reliable Tasks Contracting as the contractor. Construction costs are specified at $1,257,000.

First scheme of the PSFS Building. Image via George Howe

YIMBY Presents Massing Renderings of the First PSFS Building Design

7:30 am on August 2, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

In the 1920s, banks were looking for space in cities around the country as the economy boomed. In Philadelphia, multiple high-rises were under construction and in proposal stages as Center City was rapidly transforming. One of these financial institutions, the Philadelphia Savings Fund Society, was scouting the city for space for a new office building and eventually selected the site at 1200 Market Street, where the William Penn Charter School once stood. Architects George Howe and William Lescaze designed the PSFS Building, which stood as one of the most massive buildings in the skyline for decades. In this feature, Philadelphia YIMBY presents massing renderings of an early iteration of the that was drawn up in 1928.

Looking Back at Early Iterations of the PSFS Building

8:00 am on July 27, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

Earlier this year, Philadelphia YIMBY ran two features (one introductory and another covering construction) on the iconic PSFS Building at 1200 Market Street in Market East, Center City. The sizable high-rise, developed for the Philadelphia Savings Fund Society, was a modern marvel at the time it was built, and to this day it still makes an impression with its height and history. The 36-story building stands 491 feet tall, with the antenna bringing the total height to 792 feet. The tower was designed by George Howe and William Edmond Lescaze, who made a few iterations of the design before arriving at a version that became one of the first major International-style skyscrapers.

Philadelphia-Red Bank Bridge. Image via Courier Post

Looking Back at the Unbuilt Red Bank Bridge Proposal in South Philadelphia

7:30 am on July 19, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

In the 1920s, Philadelphia was on the rise, with industry and was with business activity bustling across the city. The port was generally busy, the skyline was growing, and as automobiles surged in numbers, the city was in need of bridges spanning the Delaware River and connecting to New Jersey on the other side. The proposed Philadelphia-Red Bank Bridge was brought to public attention by Mayor J. Hampton Moore, who suggested that the city is in dire need of a new bridge at its south end. The bridge would have been situated very close to the present location of the Walt Whitman Bridge, though slightly further west and running from the north to the south rather than from the west to the east.

Comcast Technology Center under construction July 2016. Photo by Thomas Koloski

Observing the Comcast Technology Center After the Topping Out of the Concrete Core

7:00 am on July 19, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

The majority of Philadelphia’s tallest skyscrapers stand in Center City to the west of City Hall, which include the Comcast Technology Center at 1800 Arch Street. The supertall, which is the tallest building in the city, has risen into the skyline between 2014 and 2017. Designed by Foster + Partners, the tower’s structure is compromised of a central concrete core surrounded with a steel frame, with the facade mostly clad in glass and metal. The tower was developed by Liberty Property Trust, which collaborated with Comcast to erect their second tower in the city. In this article, Philadelphia YIMBY takes a look back to when the Comcast Technology Center was under construction at the time when the core had just topped out.

Sparks Shot Tower from Camden. Photo by Thomas Koloski

A Look at the Sparks Shot Tower, Built in 1808 in Queen Village, South Philadelphia

7:00 am on June 24, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

Philadelphia features numerous old structures with interesting styles of architecture. One of the city’s oldest tall structures is the Sparks Shot Tower, which started construction in 1807 and was completed on July 4, 1808 at 129-131 Carpenter Street in the neighborhood now known as Queen Village in South Philadelphia. The facility, which predates the Civil War by almost 60 years, was designed by Thomas Sparks and John Bishop, who originated the idea for shot towers. The 143-foot-tall structure, which forms a brick-clad cylinder that tapers to the top, still stands to this day.

Philadelphia skyline 1905 looking southwest. Photo by Thomas Koloski

Philadelphia YIMBY Presents Massing Renderings of the 1905 Skyline

8:00 am on June 18, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

In the early 1900s, construction has just finished at Philadelphia City Hall (completed in 1901), with the clock tower dominating Center City. The skyline was not yet filled with massive towers. Instead, low- and mid-rise buildings made up the urban landscape. At the time, the city was growing rapidly, and a new generation of notable buildings was completed by the turn of the 20th century, including City Hall and the Masonic Temple. Today Philly YIMBY presents massing renderings of the Philadelphia skyline as it appeared all the way back in 1905.

Commerce Square in the Philadelphia skyline. Photo by Thomas Koloski

A Look at Commerce Square, Philadelphia’s Twin Towers

7:30 am on June 12, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

Philadelphia is home to many skyscrapers designed by well-known architects from around the world. Among these are the twin towers of Commerce Square, which were designed by the renowned firm of I.M. Pei & Partners. The 565-foot-tall One Commerce Square and Two Commerce Square towers are still prominent on the Philadelphia skyline to this day, and they take up an entire city block at 2001 Market Street and 2005 Market Street in Center City. Both of the 41-story structures are framed in steel, and each is topped with a decorative diamond on the east and west faces. Maguire Thomas Partners was the developer of the towers at the time of the completion of One Commerce Square in 1987 and five years when Two Commerce Square was completed, which was also the time when the developers decided to split their partnership.

Two Liberty Place from One Liberty Place. Photo by Thomas Koloski

Looking at Two Liberty Place, Philadelphia’s Fourth-Tallest Building, in Center City

8:00 am on June 8, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

The majority of the skyscrapers that dominate the Philadelphia skyline are the trophy towers that were built in the late 1980s. One of these buildings is the 848-foot-tall, 58-story Two Liberty Place at 50 South 16th Street in Center City, the city’s fourth-tallest building. The skyscraper is a part of the Liberty Place complex that consists of two towers connected by a mall and a hotel. The skyscraper was designed by Helmut Jahn, who also designed buildings such as MesseTurm in Frankfurt, Germany, 50 West Street in New York City, and the Bank of America Tower in Jacksonville, Florida, among many others. The developer of the project was Rouse and Associates, which eventually transformed into Liberty Property Trust, which built both of the Comcast skyscrapers that today dominate the skyline.

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