One Liberty Place

Liberty Place unfinished design with the Philadelphia skyline, south elevation. Models and image by Thomas Koloski

Imagining the Philadelphia Skyline with the 1985 Iteration of Liberty Place

8:00 am on March 28, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

On April 5, 1984, Willard G. Rouse of Rouse and Associates announced the proposal of Liberty Place, a complex in Center City that would rise hundreds of feet above the informal height limit set by the 548-foot Philadelphia City Hall. By the next year, Helmut Jahn of Murphy/Jahn Architects finalized the design on One Liberty Place at 1650 Market Street as the design we see today, though Two Liberty Place, The Shops at Liberty Place, and the hotel all differed from their current versions. Today Philly YIMBY takes a closer look at this early iteration of the complex design.

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Philadelphia nighttime skyline from New Jersey. Photo by Thomas Koloski

Decorative Lighting Upgrade Complete Atop One Liberty Place in Center City

7:30 am on February 6, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

One Liberty Place has been a centerpiece of the Philadelphia skyline since 1987, with a nighttime display that highlights the angled crown and spire. Designed by renowned architect Helmut Jahn and developed by Rouse and Associates, the 945-foot-tall, 61-story tower is part of a complex that includes the similarly-sized Two Liberty Place tower as well as a hotel and a shopping mall. Recently, an upgrade has been completed on the building’s decorative lighting, restoring its place on the night skyline.

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Philadelphia skyline from South Street Bridge. Photo by The Philadelphia Inquirer

The Illustrated History of Philadelphia’s Skyscraper Boom of 1984-1991

8:00 am on January 28, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

The Philadelphia skyline is anchored by a group of particularly tall buildings, but just 40 years ago, not a single tower rose over 548 feet, the height of the City Hall tower that was completed in 1901. An informal “gentlemen’s agreement” held towers back from rising above the limit, but no developer was successful until One Commerce Square was approved in 1984, which was soon followed by a series of even taller skyscrapers. Philly YIMBY looks at the history behind these Center City buildings, which shaped a major portion of the Philadelphia skyline as we know it today.

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One Liberty Place from Cira Green. Photo by Thomas Koloski

Designing One Liberty Place, the Tower that Transformed Philadelphia’s Skyline

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

One Liberty Place at 1650 Market Street is an intricately designed skyscraper has dominated the skyline of Center City for over three decades. Designed by Murphy/Jahn and developed by Rouse and Associates, the tower is clad in a pattern of stone, metal, and glass that rises up to the angled crown and the thin spire. The tower first rose to its final 61-story height in the beginning of 1987, when the top floor was assembled beneath the future spire. Philly YIMBY looks back at the design process by architect Helmut Jahn via drawings from 1984, which show multiple design iterations.

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How One Liberty Place Revolutionized the Philadelphia Skyline

8:00 am on January 5, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

In August 1987, the 945-foot-tall One Liberty Place officially opened at 1650 Market Street as Philadelphia’s tallest skyscraper, soaring above the long-held unofficial height limit of 548 feet, set by the tower of City Hall in 1901. This remarkable skyscraper with a fantastical design ultimately led to the city gaining a new cluster of tall and massive skyscrapers that define the skyline to this day. In this feature, Philadelphia YIMBY explores the building’s progress from concept to reality, as well as its tenure as the city’s tallest skyscraper for 31 years.

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