725-29 South Broad Street. Looking east. November 2020. Credit: Google Maps

Permits Issued for Vertical Addition at 725-29 South Broad Street in Hawthorne, South Philadelphia

Permits have been issued for an addition to 725-29 South Broad Street in HawthorneSouth Philadelphia. The development will involve a three-floor overbuild on top of the existing structure to create a seven-story building. Additionally, a new six-story structure will be attached to the existing building in the back. The structure will feature 55,119 square feet in the interior and will house business and office space. Construction costs for the development are estimated at $4 million.

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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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2018 rendering of 1000 Spring Garden Street via TheCondoShops

Permits Issued for 21-Unit Building at 1000 Spring Garden Street in Callowhill, North Philadelphia

Permits have been issued for the construction of a 21-unit mixed-use development at 1000 Spring Garden Street in Callowhill, North Philadelphia. Upon completion, the building will rise eight stories tall. A commercial space will be located on the ground floor. In total, the structure will hold 19,504 square feet of space and cost an estimated $2,245,440.

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Philadelphia 1945 south elevation. Models and image by Thomas Koloski

Philadelphia YIMBY Presents Massing Renderings of the 1945 Skyline

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.

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