Over The Top

This digital photograph shows an image of Philadelphia's mirrored skyscraper Liberty Place Complex as seen from Love Park on the Benjamin Franklin... more

by Marla McPherson

Title

Over The Top

Artist

Marla McPherson

Medium

Photograph

Description

This digital photograph shows an image of Philadelphia's mirrored skyscraper Liberty Place Complex as seen from Love Park on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. One Liberty Place (the tallest building to the right in the photo) is a 61-story 941 foot (288 m) skyscraper. It was completed in 1987, and at that time became the tallest building in the city. Two Liberty Place was completed in 1990, stands 58 stories tall and measures 848 feet (258 m) high. Both buildings were designed by Helmut Jahn and his firm Murphy/Jahn. The design of these two steel and blue glass buildings were heavily influenced by the Chrysler building in New York City. The building of these skyscrapers at the time was quite controversial. Opposition came from many who were against having buildings downtown taller than Philadelphia's City Hall, fearing it would negatively impact the charm and livability of the city as well as move the center of the city away from City Hall. These buildings are now considered to have given Philadelphia one of the more appealing skylines of any major American city. They are not however the tallest buildings in the city anymore, having been surpassed in height by the Comcast building completed in 2007.

Uploaded

June 19th, 2015