List of tallest buildings in Philadelphia

Philadelphia skyline as seen from the old South Street Bridge in November 2007

The Philadelphia skyline, prior to the construction of Comcast Center, showing (from left to right) the Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia, Two Liberty Place, Centre Square I and II, One Liberty Place, the Mellon Bank Center, the Philadelphia City Hall, and the Bell Atlantic Tower

This list of tallest buildings in Philadelphia ranks skyscrapers in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by height. The tallest building in the city is currently the 57-story Comcast Center, which rises 975 feet (297 meters).^[1] Comcast Center is currently the 14th tallest building in the United States. It was topped out on June 18, 2007, thereby becoming the tallest building in the city and the state.^[2] Another famous Philadelphia skyscraper is One Liberty Place, which is the city's 2nd-tallest building and the 17th-tallest building in the country.^[3] Six of the ten tallest buildings in Pennsylvania are in Philadelphia, with the remainder being in Pittsburgh.

Philadelphia's history of tall buildings is generally thought to begin with the 1744 completion of Christ Church, which served as one of America's first high-rise structures.^[4] In the early 20th century, a 'gentlemen's agreement' existed that prevented buildings from rising higher than the 548-foot (167 m) Philadelphia City Hall.^[5] Despite this agreement, Philadelphia amassed a large collection of high-rise buildings. The completion of One Liberty Place in 1987 broke the gentleman's agreement,^[5] and since then Philadelphia has seen the construction of seven skyscrapers that eclipse the City Hall in height.

Philadelphia has twice held the tallest habitable building in the United States, first with Christ Church and then with City Hall. Philadelphia City Hall reigned as the world's tallest building from 1901 to 1908,^[6] and remains the world's tallest masonry building.^[7] Like other large American cities, Philadelphia went through a massive building boom in the 1970s and 1980s, resulting in the completion of over 20 high-rise buildings. The city is the site of 10 skyscrapers at least 500 feet (152 m) tall. Overall, Philadelphia's skyline is ranked (based on existing and under-construction buildings over 500 feet (152 m) tall) third in the Northeast (after New York City and Boston) and 12th in the United States, after New York, Chicago, Miami, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas, Atlanta, Boston, Las Vegas and Seattle.^[A]

Philadelphia's skyline in 2004, before the construction of Comcast Center

Tallest buildings

Comcast Center, Philadelphia's and Pennsylvania's tallest building

One Liberty Place, with Two Liberty Place visible in the distance, Philadelphia's 2nd and 3rd-tallest buildings

Mellon Bank Center, the 4th-tallest building in the city, with One Liberty Place visible in the distance

Bell Atlantic Tower, Philadelphia's 5th-tallest building

Cira Centre, the city's 20th-tallest building

This lists ranks Philadelphia skyscrapers that stand at least 400 feet (122 meters) tall, based on standard height measurement.^[8] This includes spires and architectural details but does not include antenna masts. Existing structures are included for ranking purposes based on present height. The only demolished building that would have ranked on this list was the 492 ft (150 m) One Meridian Plaza, which was razed in 1999.^[9]

* Indicates still under construction, but has been topped out.

Tallest under construction, approved and proposed

The Murano under construction in October 2007

This lists buildings that are under construction, approved, or proposed in Philadelphia that are at least 400 feet (122 meters) in height. Under construction buildings that have already been topped out are also included. The rank that each building would hold if it were completed is listed. However, its rank is not dependent on any other buildings that are not currently completed or topped off.

* Table entry without text indicates that information regarding a building's height has not yet been released.

Timeline of tallest buildings

Philadelphia City Hall, the tallest building in the city for 86 years

Due to the "gentlemen's agreement" not to build higher than the top of the statue of William Penn atop City Hall,^[5] Philadelphia has seen few city record-holders compared to other cities with comparable skylines. The City Hall stood as the tallest structure in the city for 86 years, and was also a world record holder for tallest habitable building from 1901 until the 1908 completion of the Singer Building in New York City.

See also

• Buildings and architecture of Philadelphia
• List of tallest structures in the world by type of use

Notes

A. ^{^} New York has 205 existing and under construction buildings over 500 feet (152 m), Chicago has 104, Miami has 37, Houston has 29, Los Angeles has 22, Dallas has 19, Atlanta has 19, San Francisco has 18, Boston has 16, Las Vegas has 15, Seattle has 13, Philadelphia has 11. Source of Skyline ranking information: SkyscraperPage.com.

References

General

• Emporis.com - Philadelphia

Specific

External links

• Diagram of Philadelphia skyscrapers on SkyscraperPage
• Philadelphia Center for Architecture

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