Philadelphia is the largest city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, with a metropolitan area population of 6.3 million as of 2024. Philadelphia is home to more than 350 completed high-rise buildings,[1] 86 of which are 300 feet (91 m) of taller. Philadelphia has the largest skyline in Pennsylvania, and has the third most skyscrapers taller than 492 ft (150 m) in the Northeastern United States, after New York City and Boston. Seven of the ten tallest buildings in Pennsylvania are in Philadelphia; the remainder are in Pittsburgh.[2] The tallest building in Philadelphia is the Comcast Technology Center, the city's sole supertall skyscraper, and the tallest building in the United States outside of New York City and Chicago. The 1,113 ft (339 m), 59-story building was opened in 2018.[3][4][5]
Philadelphia has an extensive history of tall structures, generally thought to have begun with the 1754 addition of the steeple to Christ Church.[6] The Philadelphia City Hall was the first building in the world to surpass a height of 500 ft (152 m) when it topped out in 1894, and remained the world's tallest buiding until 1908. Philadelphia had one of the largest pre-war construction booms in the United States, having built 18 buildings taller than 300 ft (91 m) by the early 1930s. The Great Depression and World War II halted skyscraper development until the late 1950s. From the 1960s to 1980s, Philadelphia added a large number of office buildings to its skyline in a second boom. For most of the 20th century, a "gentlemen's agreement" imposed an unofficial height limit, restricting the height of any new skyscraper below that of the 548-foot (167 m) Philadelphia City Hall.[7]
This agreement was broken with the topping out of One Liberty Place in 1987; at 945 feet (288 m), it exceeded the height of the city hall by almost 400 feet (122 m). Its twin, Two Liberty Place, was completed in 1990, near the end of the boom. Little development occurred during the 1990s, while a fire at One Meridian Plaza led to the rare demolition of a notable skyscraper in 1998. Construction resumed in the 2000s, with an increasing share of residential development. Comcast, which is based in Philadelphia, is responsible for the city's two tallest buildings. The 973 ft (297 m) Comcast Center was completed as the company's headquarters in 2008. It was the city's tallest building until the adjacent Comcast Technology Center was built in 2018, whose central floors house additional office space for Comcast.
Despite being one of the oldest cities in the United States, the twelve tallest buildings in Philadelphia were all built after 1986, due to the former gentlemen's agreement. Philadelphia's tallest buildings are largely concentrated in Center City, the city's central business district, mainly on its western half. Delaware River marks the end of the skyline to the east. Since the 2000s, Philadelphia's skyline has also expanded westwards past the Schuylkill River, towards University City. At 730 ft (223 m), FMC Tower at Cira Centre South is the Philadelphia's tallest building outside of Center City. The Schuykill Yards development plans to add several new skyscrapers to a plot of land northeast of Drexel University. A few high-rises can be found in and around Temple University, north of Center City.
Number of buildings by height in Philadelphia by the end of each year. Click on the legend to toggle a specific height on or off. See or edit chart definition.
The map below shows the location of buildings taller than 300 feet (91.4 m) in Philadelphia. Each marker is numbered by height and colored by the decade of the building's completion. Two buildings, The Regatta and Temple University - Morgan Hall North, are not visible.
430m 469yds
86
85
84
83
82
81
80
79
78
77
76
75
74
73
72
71
70
69
68
67
66
65
64
63
62
61
60
59
58
57
56
55
54
53
52
51
50
49
48
47
46
45
44
43
42
41
40
39
38
37
36
35
34
33
32
31
30
29
28
27
26
25
24
23
22
21
20
19
18
17
16
15
14
13
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
Buildings taller than 300 feet (91 m) in Philadelphia. An asterisk (*) next to the building's name indicates it is located outside the map.
This list ranks completed and topped out skyscrapers in Philadelphia that stand at least 300 feet (91m) tall, based on standard height measurement. This includes spires and architectural details but excludes antenna masts. The "Year" column indicates the year in which a building was completed.
Was the tallest building in Pennsylvania upon completion
Construction broke ground July 2014; topped out on November 27, 2017;[4][5] The tallest building in Pennsylvania, and the tallest building in the United States outside New York City and Chicago, the 14th-tallest building in the United States; opened to staff in July 2018 and the public in October 2018; tallest building completed in Philadelphia in the 2010s. A mixed-use office and hotel building.[8][9][10][11]
Philadelphia's first skyscraper taller than City Hall. Third-tallest building in the state; 28th-tallest building in the country; tallest building completed in Philadelphia in the 1980s[14][15]
Mixed-use office, hotel, and residential building. 121st-tallest building in the country, the tallest building in Philadelphia outside Center City[23][24]
1901 is the official year of completion and the transfer of ownership to the city government; however, the tower had been topped out in 1894[32] and the building had been partially occupied by then,[33][34] making it the tallest habitable building in the United States and the world from 1894 until the completion of the Singer Building in 1908; tallest building completed in Philadelphia in the 1900s.[35]
Formerly known as the PSFS Building;[43] tallest hotel in the city until the Four Seasons opened in the Comcast Technology Center, tallest building in Philadelphia completed in the 1930s, 2nd-tallest in Philadelphia at the time of completion, the building reaches a height of 750feet (229m) with its antenna, total building area is 631,006 square feet (58,622.4m2);[44][45][46]
The following table ranks buildings under construction in Philadelphia that are expected to be at least 300 ft (91 m) tall as of 2025, based on standard height measurement. The “Year” column indicates the expected year of completion. Buildings that are on hold are not included.
The following table ranks approved and proposed buildings in Philadelphia that are expected to be at least 300 ft (91 m) tall, based on standard height measurement. The “Year” column indicates the expected year of completion. A dash “–“ indicates information about the building is unknown or not released.
One Meridian Plaza, formerly known as the Fidelity Mutual Life Building, Three Girard Plaza and Three Mellon Bank Center, was severely damaged by a fire in 1991. The fire destroyed eight floors and damaged nearby buildings. It sat vacant for eight years until 1999 when it was demolished.[139]
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 surpassed by City Hall in 1894. Then, due to the "gentlemen's agreement" not to build higher than the top of the statue of William Penn atop City Hall,[142] that building stood as the city's tallest structure for 93 years; it also held the world record for tallest habitable building from 1894 until the 1908 completion of the Singer Building in New York City.
1 2 "National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form". National Park Service. pages 2, 10. Retrieved November 13, 2017. "The statue was … hoisted to the top of the tower in fourteen sections in 1894." (pg.10) "The tower rising 548 feet, City Hall was the highest occupied building in America…" (pg.2)
↑ Barfield, Jennifer; Dot Boersma; Matthew White (September 25, 2005). "Architecture". Tenth Presbyterian Church (Presbyterian Church in America). Archived from the original on March 7, 2012. Retrieved January 21, 2009.
↑ "Philadelphia City Hall". Emporis.com. Archived from the original on December 8, 2006. Retrieved August 21, 2007.
↑ "City Hall". A View On Cities. Retrieved August 17, 2007.
↑ "One Liberty Place". Emporis.com. Archived from the original on February 20, 2007. Retrieved September 20, 2014.
↑ Terranova, Antonino (2003). Skyscrapers. Vercelli, Italy: White Star S.r.l. pp.153–154. ISBN0-7607-4733-4.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
