PHILADELPHIA PA City Hall Masonic Temple 1946 clock tower vtg linen Postcard A68

Philadelphia City Hall  is the seat of the municipal government of the City of Philadelphia  in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Built in the ornate Second Empire style , City Hall houses the chambers of the Philadelphia City Council  and the offices of the Mayor of Philadelphia .[6] [7]

This building is also a courthouse , serving as the seat of the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania . It houses the Civil Trial and Orphans' Court Divisions of the Court of Common Pleas  of Philadelphia County .[8] [9] [10]  It also houses the Philadelphia facilities for the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania  (which also holds session and accepts filings in Harrisburg  and Pittsburgh ).[11]

Built using brick, white marble and limestone, Philadelphia City Hall is the world's largest free-standing masonry  building and was the world's tallest habitable building  upon its completion in 1894. It was designated as a National Historic Landmark  in 1976; in 2006, it was also named a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers .[12]

History and description [ edit ] Philadelphia City Hall under construction in 1881

The building was designed by Scottish-born architect John McArthur Jr.  and Thomas Ustick Walter [13]  in the Second Empire  style, and was constructed from 1871 to 1901 at a cost of $24 million. City Hall's tower was completed by 1894,[1]  although the interior was not finished until 1901. Designed to be the world's tallest building, it was surpassed during construction by the Washington Monument , the Eiffel Tower  and the Mole Antonelliana . The Mole Antonelliana was a few feet taller and was the tallest masonry (i.e. without the use of steel) building in the world until 1953. In that year a storm caused the spire to collapse and Philadelphia City Hall became the tallest masonry building in the world (obviously if you don't consider monuments, such as the Washington Monument, as buildings). Upon completion of its tower in 1894, it became the world's tallest habitable building.[2] [3]  It was also the first secular building to have this distinction, as all previous world's tallest buildings were religious structures, including European cathedrals and—for the previous 3,800 years—the Great Pyramid of Giza ; even the Mole Antonelliana was supposed to be a religious building - a synagogue - but then received a different use.

The location chosen was one of the five center city urban park squares dedicated by William Penn, that geometrically is the center to the other four squares within Center City  renamed as Penn Square. City Hall is a masonry  building whose weight is borne  by granite and brick walls up to 22 ft (6.7 m) thick. The principal exterior materials are limestone , granite , and marble . The original design called for virtually no sculpture. The stonemason William Struthers and sculptor Alexander Milne Calder  were responsible for the more than 250 sculptures, capturing artists, educators, and engineers who embodied American ideals and contributed to this country's genius.[14]  The final construction cost was $24 million.[citation needed ]

At 548 ft (167 m), including the statue of city founder William Penn  atop its tower, City Hall was the tallest habitable  building in the world from 1894 to 1908. It remained the tallest in Pennsylvania until it was surpassed in 1932 by the Gulf Tower  in Pittsburgh ; it is now the 16th tallest. It was the tallest in Philadelphia until 1986 when the construction of One Liberty Place  surpassed it,[15]  ending the informal gentlemen's agreement  that had limited the height of buildings in the city to no higher than the Penn statue.[16]

It was constructed over the time span from 1871 to 1901 and includes 700 rooms dedicated for uses of various governmental operations. The building structure used over 88 million bricks and thousands of tons of marble and granite.[17]  With almost 700 rooms, City Hall is the largest municipal building in the United States and one of the largest in the world.[18]  The building houses three branches of government: the city's executive branch (the Mayor 's Office), its legislature (the Philadelphia City Council ), and a substantial portion of the judicial activity in the city (the Civil Division and Orphan's Court of the Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas  for the First Judicial District are housed there, as well as chambers for some criminal judges and some judges of the Philadelphia Municipal Court ).

It was the tallest clock tower in the world  when it was completed; it was surpassed by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower  in 1912, and is currently the 5th tallest building of this type. The tower features a clock face on each side that is 26 ft (7.9 m) in diameter.[19] [20]  The clock faces are larger in diameter than those on Big Ben  which measure 23 ft (7 m).[21]  City Hall's clock was designed by Warren Johnson and built in 1898.[22]  The 1937 Philadelphia Guide  noted that "shortly after the clock was installed the city inaugurated a custom which still continues. Every evening at three minutes of nine the tower lights are turned off, and then turned on again on the hour. This enables those within observation distance, though unable to see the hands, to set their timepieces.[23]  There are four bronze eagles, each weighing three tons with 12 ft (3.7 m) wingspans, perched above the tower's four clocks.[17]

City Hall's observation deck  is located directly below the base of the statue, about 500 ft (150 m) above street level.[24]  Once enclosed with chain-link fencing , the observation deck is now enclosed by glass. It is reached in a 6-person elevator whose glass panels allow visitors to see the interior of the iron superstructure  that caps the tower and supports the statuary and clocks. Stairs within the tower are only used for emergency exit. The ornamentation of the tower has been simplified; the huge garlands that festooned the top panels of the tower were removed.

In the 1950s, the city council investigated tearing down City Hall for a new building elsewhere. They found that the demolition would have bankrupted the city due to the building's masonry construction.[citation needed ]

Beginning in 1992, Philadelphia City Hall underwent a comprehensive exterior restoration, planned and supervised by the Historical Preservation Studio of Vitetta Architects & Engineers, headed by renowned historical preservation architect Hyman Myers.[25]  The majority of the restoration was completed by 2007, although some work has continued, including the installation of four new ornamental courtyard gates, based on an original architectural sketch, in December 2015.[26] [27] [28]

The building was voted 21st on the American Institute of Architects ' list of Americans' 150 favorite U.S. structures in 2007.[29]

William Penn statue [ edit ] Main article: William Penn (Calder) The William Penn  statue  prior to its placement atop Philadelphia City Hall in 1894

The building is topped by a 37 ft (11 m) bronze statue  weighing 53,348 lb (24,198 kg)[1]  of city founder William Penn , one of 250 sculptures created by Alexander Milne Calder  that adorn the building inside and out. The statue was cast at the Tacony  Iron Works of Northeast Philadelphia  and hoisted to the top of the tower in fourteen sections in 1894.[1]  The statue is the tallest  atop any building in the world.[1] [30] [31]

Despite its lofty perch, the city has mandated that the statue be cleaned about every ten years to remove corrosion  and reduce deterioration due to weathering , with the latest cleaning done in May 2017.[30]  Penn's statue is hollow, and a narrow access tunnel through it leads to a 22-inch-diameter (56 cm) hatch atop the hat.[32]

Calder wished the statue to face south so that its face would be lit by the sun most of the day, the better to reveal the details of his work. The statue actually faces northeast, towards Penn Treaty Park  in the Fishtown  section of the city, which commemorates the site where Penn signed a treaty with the local Native American  tribe.[33]  Pennsbury Manor , Penn's country home in Bucks County, is also located to the northeast.

By the terms of a gentlemen's agreement  that forbade any structure from rising above the hat on the Penn statue, Philadelphia City Hall remained the tallest building in the city until it was surpassed by One Liberty Place  in 1986.[15] [16]  The abrogation of this agreement supposedly brought a curse  onto local professional sports teams.[34]  Twice during the 1990s, the statue was partially clothed in a major league  sports team 's uniform when they were in contention for a championship: a Phillies  cap in 1993 and a Flyers  jersey in 1997—both teams lost.[35]  The supposed curse ended 22 years later when the Phillies won the 2008 World Series , a year and four months after a Penn statuette  had been affixed to the final beam of the Comcast Center  during its topping out  ceremony in June 2007.[36]  Another Penn statuette was placed on the topmost beam of the Comcast Technology Center  in November 2017,[37]  and the Eagles  won the Super Bowl  a few months later.[38]

Centre Square [ edit ]

City Hall is situated on land that was reserved as a public square  upon the city's founding in 1682. Originally known as Centre Square—later renamed Penn Square[39] —it was used for public gatherings until the construction of City Hall began in 1871. Centre Square was one of the five original squares of Philadelphia laid out on the city grid by William Penn . The square had been located at the geographic center of Penn's city plan, but the Act of Consolidation in 1854  created the much larger and coterminous city and county of Philadelphia .[40]  Though no longer at the exact center of the city, the square remains situated in the center of the historic area between the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers; an area which is now called Center City .

Penn had intended that Centre Square be the central focus point where the major public buildings would be located, including those for government, religion, and education, as well as the central marketplace. However, the Delaware riverfront would remain the de facto  economic and social heart of the city for more than a century.[41] [42]

Film appearances [ edit ]

City Hall has been a filming location  for several motion pictures  including Rocky  (1976), Blow Out  (1981), Trading Places  (1983), Philadelphia  (1993), 12 Monkeys  (1995), National Treasure  (2004), Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen  (2009), and Limitless  (2011).[43]

The Masonic Temple  is a historic Masonic  building in Philadelphia . Located at 1 North Broad Street, directly across from Philadelphia City Hall , it serves as the headquarters of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania , Free and Accepted Masons. The Temple features the Masonic Library and Museum of Pennsylvania, and receives thousands of visitors every year to view the ornate structure, which includes seven lodge rooms, where today a number of Philadelphia lodges and the Grand Lodge conduct their meetings.

Prior Masonic Temples in Philadelphia [ edit ]

Freemasonry existed in Philadelphia since the early 1700s. The original Masonic temple in the city was built in 1811 on Chestnut Street between 7th and 8th Street, but burned down in 1819.[4]  It was rebuilt in 1820. A second Masonic temple was built on Chestnut Street  in the 1850s, dedicated in 1855[5] [6]  and sold in 1873, once the new temple was completed.

Construction [ edit ]

The Temple was designed in the medieval Norman style  by James H. Windrim , who was 27 years old at the time he won the design competition.[2]  The massive granite cornerstone, weighing ten tons, was leveled on St. John the Baptist's Day, June 24, 1868. The ceremonial gavel[7]  used on that day by Grand Master Richard Vaux  was the same gavel used by President George Washington  in leveling the cornerstone of the nation's Capitol building in 1793.

The construction was completed five years later, in 1873, and dedicated on September 29th of that year.[8]  The interior, designed by George Herzog , was begun in 1887 and took another fifteen years to finish.[2]

The bold and elaborate elevations on Broad and Filbert Streets, especially the beautiful portico of Quincy granite, make it one of the great architectural wonders of Philadelphia. The exterior stone of the building on Broad and Filbert Streets is Cape Ann Syenite  from Syne in Upper Egypt.[9]

On May 27, 1971, the Temple was listed on the National Register of Historic Places .[1]  It was designated a National Historic Landmark  in 1985. It was cited in its landmark designation as one of the nation's most elaborate examples of Masonic architecture.[10]

• Condition: Used
• Condition: Condition of postcard is normal with age and storage. Might have some yellowing/tanning, creases and edge dents, edge/corner wear, and other wear, and could have some writing on front and/or back. Detailed scans/pictures are of front and back. Please refer to them for more details on condition. Please ask any questions. Thanks! ~ Postcard Pete
• Unit of Sale: Single Unit
• Signed: No
• Size: Standard (5.5 x 3.5 in)
• Material: Cardboard
• City: Philadelphia
• Original/Licensed Reprint: Original
• Brand/Publisher: Curt Teich
• Subject: Temple
• Type: Linen Postcard
• Continent: North America
• Era: Photochrome (1939-Now)
• Country: United States
• Region: Pennsylvania
• Theme: Architecture, Cities & Towns, Community Life, Photographs, Politics, Stamp Language
• Features: Divided Back, Hand Colored Print, White Border
• Time Period Manufactured: 1930-1939
• Unit Quantity: 1
• Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
• Postage Condition: Posted

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