List of tallest buildings in Philadelphia
Philadelphia, the largest city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, is home to 381 completed high-rises,[1] 29 of which stand taller than 400 feet (122 m). The tallest building in the city is currently the 57-story Comcast Center, which rises 974 feet (297 m) in Center City.[2] Comcast Center is also the tallest building in Pennsylvania and the 19th-tallest building in the United States. The second-tallest building is One Liberty Place, which rises 61 floors and 945 feet (288 m).[3] One Liberty Place stood as the tallest building in Pennsylvania for over 20 years until the completion of Comcast Center in 2008. Overall, six of the ten tallest buildings in Pennsylvania are in Philadelphia, with the remainder being in Pittsburgh.[4] Philadelphia is one of only five American cities with two or more completed buildings over 900 feet (270 m) tall.[5]
Philadelphia's history of tall buildings is generally thought to have begun with the 1754 addition of the steeple to Christ Church, which was one of America's first high-rise structures.[6] Through most of the 20th century, a "gentlemen's agreement" prevented buildings from rising higher than the 548-ft (167-m) Philadelphia City Hall.[7] Despite this, Philadelphia amassed a large collection of high-rise buildings. The completion of One Liberty Place in 1987 broke the agreement,[7] and Philadelphia has since seen the construction of eight skyscrapers that eclipse City Hall in height.
Philadelphia has twice held the tallest habitable building in North America, first with Christ Church, then with City Hall. The latter reigned as the world's tallest building from 1894 to 1908,[8] and is currently the world's second-tallest masonry building, only 1.6 feet (0.49 m) shorter[9] than Mole Antonelliana in Turin.[10] 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.
As of August 2014, there are several major high-rise construction projects underway in Philadelphia. The largest of these projects is the Comcast Innovation and Technology Center, which began construction in 2014 and will rise 1,121 feet (342 m) upon completion. The Comcast Innovation and Technology Center will surpass Comcast Center by over 100 feet (30 m) to become the tallest skyscraper in Pennsylvania and the tallest building in the country outside of New York and Chicago.[11]
Tallest buildings
This list ranks completed and topped out skyscrapers in Philadelphia that stand at least 400 feet (120 m) tall, based on standard height measurement. This includes spires and architectural details but does not include antenna masts. An equal sign (=) following a rank indicates the same height between two or more buildings. The "Year" column indicates the year in which a building was completed. The only demolished building that would have ranked on this list was the 492-foot (150 m) One Meridian Plaza, razed in 1999.[12]
Rank | Name | Image | Height ft (m) |
Floors | Year | Address | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Comcast Center | 974 (297) | 58 | 2008 | 1701 John F. Kennedy Blvd | Tallest building in Pennsylvania; 15th-tallest building in the United States, 98th-tallest in the world; tallest building completed in Philadelphia in the 2000s[2][13][14] Tallest building between New York and Chicago and between New York and Atlanta. Tallest building in the Mid-Atlantic region. The new Comcast Innovation and Technology Center will surpass the current Comcast center by 146 feet. This super tall tower will be standing at 1,121 feet. It will be the 8th tallest building in the country and the tallest building outside of New York and Chicago. | |
2 | One Liberty Place | 945 (288) | 61 | 1987 | 1650 Market Street | Second-tallest skyscraper in the city and state; 20th-tallest building in the country, 112th-tallest in the world; tallest building completed in Philadelphia in the 1980s[3][15][16] | |
3 | Two Liberty Place | 848 (258) | 58 | 1990 | 1601 Chestnut Street | 35th-tallest building in the country, 156th-tallest in the world; tallest building completed in Philadelphia in the 1990s[17][18][19] | |
4 | BNY Mellon Center | 792 (241) | 54 | 1990 | 1735 Market Street | 47th-tallest building in the country, 279th tallest building in the world; also known as Nine Penn Center[20][21][22] | |
5 | Three Logan Square | 739 (225) | 55 | 1991 | 1717 Arch Street | 89th-tallest building in the United States; formerly known as Bell Atlantic Tower and Verizon Tower[23][24][25][26] | |
6 | G. Fred DiBona Jr. Building | 625 (191) | 45 | 1990 | 1901 Market Street | Formerly known as the Blue Cross-Blue Shield Tower and the IBX Tower[27][28][29] | |
7= | One Commerce Square | 565 (172) | 41 | 1992 | 2005 West Market Street | [30][31] | |
7= | Two Commerce Square | 565 (172) | 41 | 1987 | 2001 West Market Street | [31][32] | |
9 | Philadelphia City Hall | 548 (167) | 9 | 1901 | 1 Penn Square | Tallest building in the United States and the world from 1901 until the completion of the Singer Building in 1908[33][34] | |
10 | The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton | 518 (158) | 48 | 2009 | 1414 South Penn Square | Tallest residential building in the city.[35][36][37] | |
11 | 1818 Market Street | 500 (152) | 40 | 1974 | 1818 Market Street | Tallest building completed in Philadelphia in the 1970s[38][39] | |
12 | The St. James | 498 (152) | 45 | 2004 | 700 Walnut Street | Tallest building located east of Broad Street[40][41] | |
13 | Loews Philadelphia Hotel | 492 (150) | 36 | 1932 | 1200 Market Street | Formerly known as the PSFS Building[42] Tallest hotel in the city. With its antenna, the building reaches a height of 750 feet (229 m), making it the 5th-tallest building in the city.[43][44][45] | |
14 | PNC Bank Building | 491 (150) | 40 | 1983 | 1600 Market Street | [46][47] | |
15= | Centre Square II | 490 (149) | 40 | 1973 | Market and 15th Streets | [48][49] | |
15= | Five Penn Center | 490 (149) | 36 | 1970 | 1601 Market Street | [50][51] | |
17 | Murano | 475 (145) | 43 | 2008 | 2101 Market Street | [52][53][54] | |
18 | One South Broad | 472 (144) | 28 | 1932 | 1 South Broad Street | Formerly known as the Lincoln-Liberty Building and the PNB (Philadelphia National Bank) Building[55][56] | |
19= | 2000 Market Street | 435 (133) | 29 | 1973 | 2000 Market Street | [57][58] | |
19= | Two Logan Square | 435 (133) | 35 | 1987 | 100 North 18th Street | [59][60] | |
21 | Cira Centre | 434 (133) | 28 | 2005 | 30th and Arch Streets | Tallest building in Philadelphia outside Center City although, once completed, the FMC tower will surpass the current Cira Centre.[61][62] | |
22= | 1700 Market | 430 (131) | 32 | 1968 | 1700 Market Street | Tallest building completed in the 1960s[63][64] | |
22= | Evo at Cira Centre South | — | 430 (131) | 33 | 2014 | 2930 Chestnut Street | [65][66][67] |
24 | 1835 Market Street | 425 (130) | 29 | 1986 | 1835 Market Street | Name was changed from Eleven Penn Center in 2003[68][69] | |
25 | Centre Square I | 417 (127) | 32 | 1973 | Market and 15th Streets | [70][71] | |
26 | Aramark Tower | 412 (126) | 32 | 1984 | 1101 Market Street | Formerly known as One Reading Center[72][73] | |
27 | Wells Fargo Building | 405 (123) | 29 | 1927 | 123 South Broad Street | [74][75] | |
28 | One Logan Square | — | 400 (122) | 31 | 1983 | 130 North 18th Street | [76][77] |
29 | 1706 Rittenhouse | — | 400 (122) | 31 | 2010 | 1706 Rittenhouse Square | [78] |
Tallest under construction or proposed
This lists buildings that are under construction or proposed for construction in Philadelphia and are planned to rise at least 400 feet (120 m), but are not yet completed structures. A floor count of 40 stories is used as the cutoff for buildings whose heights have not yet been released by their developers.
Name | Height ft (m) |
Floors | Year* (est.) |
Status | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Comcast Innovation and Technology Center | 1,121 (341)[79] | 59[79] | 2018[11][80] | Under construction[80] | Construction broke ground July, 2014.[80] This will be the tallest building in Philadelphia, and the 8th tallest in the country.[79] |
Cira Centre South Office Tower | 736 (224) | 49 | 2016 | Under construction | Also known as the FMC Tower at Cira Centre South, it will become the 7th tallest building in Philadelphia (with the Comcast Innovation and Technology Center being constructed concurrently.) height change from 730' [81][82][83] |
Cira II | 725 (221) | 48 | — | Proposed | [84] |
1911 Walnut | 600 (183) | 51 | — | Proposed | [84] |
SLS International | 590 (180) | 47 | 2017 | Site Prep | Formerly known as Avenue Place; construction is expected to begin Spring 2015, and will be constructed along Broad Street.[85] |
W Hotel & Element by Westin Philadelphia | 582 (177) | 51 | 2017 | Under Construction | Directly south of the Residences at the Ritz-Carlton. Surface digging on the lot began February, 2015.[86][87] |
2100 Market | 500 (152.4) | 39 | — | Proposed | [84] |
Riverwalk Philadelphia | 446 (135) | 42 | — | Proposed | [84] |
MIC Tower | 429 (130) | 35 | — | Proposed | [88] |
1910 Chestnut | 406 (124) | 32 | — | Site prep | [88] |
* Table entries with dashes (—) indicate that information regarding building heights or dates of completion has not yet been released.
Timeline of tallest buildings
Philadelphia has seen few city record-holders compared to other cities with comparable skylines. Although churches, cathedrals, and the like are not technically considered to be skyscrapers, Christ Church, after being surmounted with its lofty spire in 1754, stood as its tallest building for 102 years before being surpassed by the (no longer extant) spire of Tenth Presbyterian Church, which was only surpassed by the North American Building in 1900. Then, due to the "gentlemen's agreement" not to build higher than the top of the statue of William Penn atop City Hall,[7] that building stood as the city's tallest structure for 86 years; it also held the world record for tallest habitable building from 1901 until the 1908 completion of the Singer Building in New York City.
Name | Image | Street address | Years as tallest | Height ft (m) |
Floors | Architect | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independence Hall | 520 Chestnut Street | 1748–1754 | 134 (41) | — | Edmund Woolley and Andrew Hamilton | ||
Christ Church | 20 North American Street | 1754–1856 | 196 (60) | — | Robert Smith | [6][89] | |
Tenth Presbyterian Church | 17th & Spruce Streets | 1856–1900 | 250 (76) | — | John McArthur, Jr. | [90] | |
North American Building | — | 121 South Broad Street | 1900–1901 | 267 (81) | 21 | James H. Windrim | [91] |
Philadelphia City Hall | Broad & Market Streets | 1901–1987 | 548 (167) | 9 | John McArthur, Jr. | [33][92] | |
One Liberty Place | 1650 Market Street | 1987–2008 | 945 (288) | 61 | Helmut Jahn | [3][93] | |
Comcast Center | 1701 John F. Kennedy Boulevard | 2008–present | 974 (297) | 57 | Robert A. M. Stern Architects | [2][13] | |
See also
- List of tallest buildings in Pittsburgh
- List of tallest buildings in Pennsylvania
- List of tallest buildings in the United States
- Buildings and architecture of Philadelphia
- List of tallest structures in the world by type of use
References
- General
- Specific
- ↑ "About: Philadelphia". Emporis.com. Retrieved 2014-09-20.
- 1 2 3 "Comcast Center". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 2014-09-20.
- 1 2 3 "One Liberty Place". Emporis.com. Retrieved 2014-09-20.
- ↑ "Diagram of Tallest Buildings in Pennsylvania". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 2014-09-20.
- ↑ "Diagram of Tallest Buildings in the United States". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 2014-09-20.
- 1 2 "Christ Church". Emporis.com. Retrieved 2007-08-17.
- 1 2 3 "City Hall". PhillySkyline.com. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
- ↑ "City Hall". GalenFrysinger.com. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
- ↑ "Philadelphia City Hall, Philadelphia". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
- ↑ "Mole Antonelliana, Turin". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
- 1 2 "Comcast Innovation & Technology Center". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 2014-09-20.
- ↑ "One Meridian Plaza". Emporis.com. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
- 1 2 "Comcast Center". Emporis.com. Retrieved 2008-05-12.
- ↑ "Comcast Center Overview". Liberty Property Trust. Retrieved 2009-03-30.
- ↑ "One Liberty Place". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
- ↑ "One Liberty Place". Structurae.de. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
- ↑ "Two Liberty Place". Emporis.com. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
- ↑ "Two Liberty Place". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
- ↑ "Two Liberty Place". Structurae.de. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
- ↑ "Mellon Bank Center". Emporis.com. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
- ↑ "Mellon Bank Center". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
- ↑ "Mellon Building". Structurae.de. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
- ↑ "Bell Atlantic Tower". Emporis.com. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
- ↑ "Bell Atlantic Tower". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
- ↑ "Verizon Tower". Structurae.de. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
- ↑ Kostelni, Natalie (October 1, 2010). "Arch Street High-Rise Has Yet Another Name". Philadelphia Business Journal. Retrieved 2010-10-11.
- ↑ "G. Fred DiBona, Jr. Building". Emporis.com. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
- ↑ "G. Fred DiBona, Jr. Building". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
- ↑ "Independence Blue Cross Tower". Structurae.de. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
- ↑ "One Commerce Square". Emporis.com. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
- 1 2 "Commerce Square". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
- ↑ "Two Commerce Square". Emporis.com. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
- 1 2 "Philadelphia City Hall". Emporis.com. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
- ↑ "Philadelphia City Hall". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
- ↑ "Residences at the Ritz-Carlton". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
- ↑ "Residences at the Ritz-Carlton, Philadelphia". Emporis.com. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
- ↑ "The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton, Philadelphia Is Now Open" (PDF) (Press release). AGC Partners, LC and Gencom Group. January 13, 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-20.
- ↑ "1818 Market Street". Emporis.com. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
- ↑ "1818 Market Street". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
- ↑ "The St. James". Emporis.com. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
- ↑ "The Saint James". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
- ↑ Dupré, Judith (1996). Skyscrapers. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, Inc. p. 41. ISBN 1-884822-45-2.
- ↑ "Loews Philadelphia Hotel". Emporis.com. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
- ↑ "Loews Philadelphia Hotel". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
- ↑ "PSFS Building". Structurae.de. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
- ↑ "PNC Bank Building". Emporis.com. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
- ↑ "PNC Bank Center". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
- ↑ "Centre Square II". Emporis.com. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
- ↑ "Centre Square II". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
- ↑ "Five Penn Center". Emporis.com. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
- ↑ "Five Penn Center". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
- ↑ "The Murano". Emporis.com. Retrieved 2007-08-16.
- ↑ "The Murano". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
- ↑ Kostelni, Natalie (November 11, 2005). "Murano will heighten West Market's residential thrust". Philadelphia Business Journal. Retrieved 2009-04-20.
- ↑ "One South Broad". Emporis.com. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
- ↑ "One South Broad". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
- ↑ "2000 Market Street". Emporis.com. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
- ↑ "2000 Market Street". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
- ↑ "Two Logan Square". Emporis.com. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
- ↑ "2 Logan Square". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
- ↑ "Cira Center". Emporis.com. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
- ↑ "Cira Center". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
- ↑ "1700 Market". Emporis.com. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
- ↑ "1700 Market". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
- ↑ "Cira Centre South Office Tower". emporis.com. Retrieved 2013-08-20.
- ↑ "Cira Centre South Residential Tower". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 2013-08-13.
- ↑ "EVO | Campus Crest". Campus Crest. Retrieved 15 September 2013.
- ↑ "1835 Market Street". Emporis.com. Retrieved 2007-08-16.
- ↑ "1835 Market Street". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
- ↑ "Centre Square I". Emporis.com. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
- ↑ "Centre Square I". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
- ↑ "Aramark Tower". Emporis.com. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
- ↑ "Aramark Tower". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
- ↑ "Wachovia Building". Emporis.com. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
- ↑ "Wachovia Building". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
- ↑ "One Logan Square". Emporis.com. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
- ↑ "1 Logan Square". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
- ↑ "1706 Rittenhouse Square". SkyscraperCenter.com. Retrieved 2015-03-11.
- 1 2 3 Kostelni, Natalie (2014-01-16). "Comcast, Liberty Property to construct new $1.2B skyscraper". Phila. Bus. J.
- 1 2 3 Kostelni, Natalie (2014-03-07). "Comcast skyscraper construction begins; new details emerge". Phila. Bus. J.
- ↑ "Cira Centre South Office Tower". emporis.com. Retrieved 2008-04-17.
- ↑ "Cira Centre South". University of Pennsylvania. Archived from the original on 2007-10-29. Retrieved 2007-10-31.
- ↑ Shields, Jeff. "Cira Centre South project gets Council panel's OK". Philly.com. Retrieved 2007-10-31.
- 1 2 3 4 http://philly.curbed.com/archives/2014/06/18/riverwalk-clears-its-first-hurdle-now-one-step-closer.php. Missing or empty
|title=
(help) - ↑ Stringer, Matt (2013-12-03). "Proposed 40-story tower to wipe Cypress Street off the grid but put South Broad on the map". Philadelphia Real Estate Blog. Retrieved 2014-01-17.
- ↑ "W Hotel & Element by Westin Philadelphia". emporis.com. Retrieved 2013-08-20.
- ↑ "W Hotel". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 2013-08-13.
- ↑ Avery, Ron (1999). A Concise History of Philadelphia. Philadelphia: Otis Books. p. 27. ISBN 0-9658825-1-9.
- ↑ Barfield, Jennifer; Dot Boersma; Matthew White (September 25, 2005). "Architecture". Tenth Presbyterian Church (Presbyterian Church in America). Retrieved 2009-01-21.
- ↑ "North American Building". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 2011-05-13.
- ↑ "City Hall". A View On Cities. Retrieved 2007-08-17.
- ↑ Terranova, Antonino (2003). Skyscrapers. Vercelli, Italy: White Star S.r.l. pp. 153–154. ISBN 0-7607-4733-4.
External links
- Diagram of Philadelphia skyscrapers on SkyscraperPage
- Philadelphia Center for Architecture
- Philadelphia Skyline Photo on Picture Philly
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