Liberty Place
- Architect
- Helmut Jahn
- Year
- 1990
- Style
- Postmodernism
- City
- Philadelphia, PA
Liberty Place is a Center City complex anchored by two skyscrapers, the 945-foot One Liberty Place and the 848-foot Two Liberty Place, along with the two-story Shops at Liberty Place mall and the 14-story Westin Philadelphia Hotel. Designed by Helmut Jahn, One Liberty Place broke a decades-old gentlemen's agreement against building anything taller than the William Penn statue atop City Hall, a tradition that held until developer Willard G. Rouse III of Rouse & Associates announced the project in 1984 over significant public opposition. Construction began in 1985 and One Liberty Place was completed in 1987, its distinctive spire becoming a recognizable feature of the Philadelphia skyline.
the building
Breaking the height limit. Before Liberty Place, Center City had observed an informal agreement not to build above William Penn's statue on City Hall; critics warned that breaking it would trigger a wave of towers that would ruin the neighborhood's scale, but developer Willard G. Rouse III pushed the project through anyway.
Four buildings, one complex. The Liberty Place complex combines the 61-story One Liberty Place, the 58-story Two Liberty Place, a two-story retail mall called the Shops at Liberty Place, and the 14-story Westin Philadelphia Hotel.
the style
Jahn's postmodern design gave One Liberty Place its faceted, spire-topped crown, a silhouette distinct enough from the boxier modernist towers around it to become an instantly recognizable marker on the Philadelphia skyline.
More on Postmodernismthe architect
Helmut Jahn designed Liberty Place, giving Philadelphia its first building to break the city's long-standing height ceiling below City Hall's William Penn statue.
nearby
- BNY Mellon Center
- Church of The Epiphany
- Estey Hall
- Suburban Station
- Sun Oil Building
- Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia