Philadelphia City Hall
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Philadelphia City Hall is the seat of government for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At 167 m (548 ft), including statue, it is the world's tallest masonry building: the weight of the building is borne by brick and stone walls up to 22 ft thick, rather than steel. The principal exterior materials are limestone, granite, and marble.
The building was designed by Philadelphia architect John McArthur, in the Second Empire style, and was constructed from 1871 until 1901 for a cost of $24 million. Originally designed to be the world's tallest building, by the time it was completed it had already been surpassed by the Washington Monument and the Eiffel Tower. With close to 700 rooms, City Hall remains the largest municipal building in North America and maybe the world. The building houses three branches of government, the Executive (Mayor's Office), the Legislative (City Council), and the Judicial Branch's Civil Courts.
The building is topped by an 11 m (37 ft), 27-ton bronze statue of city founder William Penn, one of 250 sculptures created by Alexander Milne Calder that adorn the building inside and out. The statue is the tallest atop any building in the world.
For much of its history, City Hall remained the tallest building in Philadelphia, thanks to a "gentlemen's agreement." In 1987, it lost that distinction when One Liberty Place was completed. (The breaking of this agreement is said to be the cause of the so-called Curse of Billy Penn, under the supposed influence of which no major-league Philadelphia sports team has won a national championship since 1983.)
The free outdoor observation deck located directly below the base of the statue offers visitors an expansive view of the city and its surroundings. Penn's statue is hollow, and a narrow access tunnel through it leads to a small (22-inch-diameter) hatch atop the hat.
City Hall is a National Historic Landmark.
See also
- redirect
External links
- [Official site]
- http://www.skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=178
- http://www.aviewoncities.com/philadelphia/cityhall.htm
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