Skyline

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.

Philadelphia 1987 and 2020 south elevation. Model and image by Thomas Koloski

Philadelphia YIMBY Compares Massing Renderings of the 1987 and the 2020 Skyline

8:00 am on May 9, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

Over the decades, the Philadelphia skyline has seen many transformations with different iconic images, such as when City Hall stood all alone in the early 1900s. One of the key years in the high-rise history of the city is 1987, when One Liberty Place dramatically surpassed City Hall in height and opened later in the same year. Another key year is 2018, when the skyline gained its first supertall tower with the completion of the Comcast Technology Center. Today Philly YIMBY compares the skyline’s appearance in 1987 to its state in 2020.

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.

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.

Philadelphia skyline from I-95. Photo by Thomas Koloski

YIMBY Observes the Rising Philadelphia Skyline from the Interstate 95

8:00 am on April 24, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

Today Philly YIMBY observes the city from the Interstate 95, where the skyline opens into a dramatic view. The highway is one of the longest in the country as it starts in Florida and travels north along the East Coast going through 15 states for 1,908 miles to the Canada border in Maine. But in Philadelphia, the I-95 runs along the Delaware River past the Girard Point Bridge, the sports complex, and the Navy Yard. The highway then turns north and runs under the Walt Whitman Bridge, past the decommissioned SS United States, which once held the Blue Riband as the fastest transatlantic ocean liner. The highway then travels past Penn’s Landing and under the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, where it turns to the northeast to head towards Trenton and New York City.

Philadelphia skyline from I-676. Photo by Thomas Koloski

YIMBY Observes the Rising Philadelphia Skyline from the I-676

8:00 am on April 23, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

Recently, Philly YIMBY has covered the rising Philadelphia skyline from the Interstate 95 South and the Walt Whitman Bridge. Today we look at the skyline from the outlook at the Interstate 676 in Camden, New Jersey, which reveal a unique view of Philadelphia’s skyscrapers. The I-676 circles around the city as the Vine Street Expressway cuts through the north side of Center City, then heads south toward the Sports Complex and turns back to the Walt Whitman Bridge. The I-676 then heads south and becomes Route 42, while heading north on the highway takes one toward Camden and onto the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, which leads back to the Vine Street Expressway and further in University City and beyond.

Philadelphia skyline from the Walt Whitman Bridge. Photo by Thomas Koloski

YIMBY Observes the Rising Philadelphia Skyline from the Walt Whitman Bridge

8:00 am on April 22, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

The Walt Whitman Bridge presents an excellent vantage point for a showcase of the major projects that are rising in the Philadelphia skyline. Today Philadelphia YIMBY shares photos of the city taken from the suspension bridge, which is one of the largest structures that spans the Delaware River, with towers that stand 378 feet tall. The west end of the bridge is situated just to the north of the Port of Philadelphia, from where it heads east to Gloucester City, New Jersey on the other side of the river and provides access to Camden, Trenton, Atlantic City, and beyond. The route to New Jersey features a view of billboards that annoyingly block the skyline from the Philadelphia side, the Southwark Generating Station and its four white chimneys. However, when heading west towards the city, the bridge offers panoramic views of the skyline.

Philadelphia skyline 1975 south elevation. Image and models by Thomas Koloski

Philadelphia YIMBY Presents Massing Renderings of the 1975 Skyline

8:00 am on April 19, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

In the 1970s the Philadelphia skyline was on the rise, with bulky new office towers being constructed throughout Center City. At this time, the “Gentlemen’s Agreement” was untouched, as every structure stood below the height of the statue of William Penn at the top of City Hall. New high-rises were adding substantial amounts of office space and dominated the previous structures that stood out in the skyline, and featured various designs with stone, metal, and glass cladding. Philadelphia YIMBY presents massing renderings of the skyline as it stood in 1975, when Brutalist architecture dominated much of the financial district, including the area around City Hall.

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.

The Philadelphia skyline as seen from the Walt Whitman Bridge. Photo by Thomas Koloski

Looking at Some of the Most Impactful Additions to the Philadelphia Skyline Since 2017

8:00 am on April 6, 2021 By Colin LeStourgeon

The Philadelphia skyline has long provided an iconic image for the city and the state, with high-rise buildings dating back to the late 19th century, the most iconic being the City Hall, which topped out in 1894 as the tallest habitable building in the world, a title it held until 1908. Each era of skyscraper construction has made a significant impact on the skyline, with prominent types of skyscrapers defining each time period. The city has recently seen a skyscraper construction boom, which began around 2017, with many high-rises completed and under construction since that time. Philadelphia YIMBY looks at some of the most impactful structures that the city has received during this period.

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