PNB Building (left) in the Philadelphia skyline. Photo by Thomas Koloski

Looking at the PNB Building at One South Broad Street in Center City

The PNB Building at One South Broad Street in Center City was originally built as a massive addition to the Wanamaker’s at 1300 Market Street, just to the west of the department store. The building was originally called the Lincoln-Liberty Building, though today the structure is known as One South Broad. The 465,000-square-foot building stands 28 stories tall and rises to a height of 478 feet. The tower was designed by John Torrey Windrim, who also designed the Franklin Institute, which was completed in 1934. The building features a wide profile from the east and west and a setbacked crown that steps up to a bell tower that holds the 17-ton Founder’s Bell. The tower’ cornerstone was placed on October 1, 1931, shortly before the nearby Wanamaker Men’s Store opened over a week later on October 12, 1932.

Read More

Washington. Credit: Google.

Permits Issued for 24-Unit Conversion at 943-49 Washington Avenue in Bella Vista, South Philadelphia

Permits have been issued for a multi-family conversion of 943-49 Washington Avenue in Bella VistaSouth Philadelphia. An extension will be added to the structure, which will stand a total of five stories tall upon completion and contain 24 residential units. Permit lists TBC LLC as the contractor, with Lonny Rossman as the design professional. The building will hold 29,535 square feet of space and cost an estimated $4.2 million to build.

Read More

The Centennial Tower. Image from Clarke, Reeves and Company

Remembering the Unbuilt Centennial Tower in Fairmount Park, West Philadelphia

During the planning for the Centennial Exposition of 1876, expo organizers put forth a bold proposal for an incredibly tall structure called the Centennial Tower in Fairmount Park, where two buildings still remain from the expo. The tower was planned at 1,000 feet tall, well before any skyscrapers were built in the city. The tower would have risen as large cross-braced tube that slims down at the top, capped with a short cone top and lightning rod, and would have featured four observation levels. The metal structure was designed by Clarke, Reeves and Company, which had also designed an older bridge that stood at then site of the current Girard Avenue Bridge.

Read More

Credit: Seven Tower Bridge.

Completion Nears at Seven Tower Bridge Office Complex in Conshohocken

Completion of construction is approaching rapidly at Seven Tower Bridge, a large office development situated by the Schuylkill River in Conshohocken, northwest of Philadelphia. The main tower stands 14 stories tall, holds 250,000 square feet of office space, and sits atop an 820-car parking garage podium which allows the building to reach a greater height than it would have otherwise. Amenities will include a two-story marble lobby, a gym, and a riverside café.

Read More