Liberty Place facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Liberty Place |
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One and Two Liberty Place
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| General information | |
| Status | Complete |
| Type | Commercial offices Residential Hotel Retail |
| Location | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Groundbreaking | Phase 1: May 13, 1985 Phase 2: February 16, 1988 |
| Completed | Phase 1: 1987 Phase 2: 1990 |
| Owner | Sunbelt Management Coretrust Capital Partners HEI Hospitality |
| Height | |
| Architectural | 945 feet (288 m) / 848 feet (258 m) |
| Top floor | Phase 1: 784 feet (239 m) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 61 / 58 |
| Floor area | 111,483 square metres (1,199,990 sq ft) |
| Lifts/elevators | Phase 2: 24 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Helmut Jahn |
| Architecture firm | Murphy/Jahn |
| Developer | Rouse & Associates |
| Structural engineer | Thornton Tomasetti |
Liberty Place is a group of tall buildings in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. This amazing complex includes two very tall skyscrapers: One Liberty Place (61 stories, 945-foot (288 m)) and Two Liberty Place (58 stories, 848-foot (258 m)). It also has a two-story shopping mall called the Shops at Liberty Place and the 14-story Westin Philadelphia Hotel.
For a long time, there was an unwritten rule in Center City. People agreed not to build any structure taller than the statue of William Penn on top of Philadelphia City Hall. This tradition lasted until 1984. That's when a developer named Willard G. Rouse III announced plans for two towers taller than City Hall. Many people were against this idea. They worried that breaking the height limit would lead to too many tall buildings. They thought it would ruin the charm of Center City.
Even with the opposition, the plan for One Liberty Place was approved. The first part of the project started in 1985 and finished in 1987. One Liberty Place became the city's first skyscraper to break the old height rule. The second part of the project included Two Liberty Place, the hotel, the shopping mall, and a parking garage. Construction began in 1988 after Cigna, a big company, agreed to rent all of the skyscraper for its main office.
Construction of the second phase finished in 1990. This made Two Liberty Place the second-tallest building in Philadelphia. The two towers were the tallest and second-tallest until the Comcast Center was completed in 2007. Many people liked Liberty Place. It led to more tall buildings being built, giving Philadelphia what one architecture critic called "one of the most appealing skylines of any major American city."
Liberty Place was designed by architect Helmut Jahn and his company Murphy/Jahn. The buildings are made of steel and blue glass. Their design was greatly inspired by New York City's famous Chrysler Building. You can see this influence in the spires, which have angled steps. Two Liberty Place's spire is a bit shorter and wider. This design was chosen to fit the needs of its main tenant, Cigna. Later, Cigna used less space in the tower. So, the owners turned the top floors into 122 fancy apartments called condominiums. Below the two towers is the 289-room Westin hotel and the Shops at Liberty Place. The mall's main feature is a round open space called an atrium with a large glass dome on top.
Contents
History of Liberty Place
Building the Towers
The first part of the complex, One Liberty Place, started construction on May 13, 1985. This skyscraper was planned to be the tallest building in the complex. It officially became the tallest building in Philadelphia on September 10, 1986. This happened when the steel columns for the 44th floor were put in place. One Liberty Place was topped off on December 12 with a special ceremony. The city's mayor said the tower "breaks the status quo of the city." On May 27, 1987, the building's spire was placed on top.
Conrail, a railroad company, was the first big company to rent space in the building in December 1985. However, by April 1987, only 20 percent of the building was rented. Conrail was the first tenant to move in when the building officially opened on August 17.
One Liberty Place was only about one-third full by the end of 1987. Then, plans for Two Liberty Place were approved. This happened after Cigna agreed to move its 4,400 employees from 15 different Philadelphia buildings into the new skyscraper. Cigna agreed to rent the entire 1,200,000 square feet (110,000 m2) of Two Liberty Place on December 14. The second phase of the complex began construction on February 16, 1988. This phase included Two Liberty Tower, a Ritz-Carlton Hotel, a two-story shopping mall, and a parking garage. The Ritz-Carlton Hotel opened on November 5, 1990. The shopping mall, called Shops at Liberty Place, opened a week later on November 13. The mall opened during a tough economic time, so a quarter of its space was empty. Two Liberty Place finished construction by the end of that year.
Changes Over Time
In 1990, the original developer, Rouse, sold his share in One Liberty Place. The Ritz-Carlton Hotel also changed owners several times. In 1999, One Liberty Place, Two Liberty Place, and the Shops of Liberty Place were all put up for sale. One Liberty Place and the Shops at Liberty Place were sold later that year to Sunbelt Management for a good price. Two Liberty Place was harder to sell because it was not clear if Cigna would continue to rent its space.
In January 1999, the Ritz-Carlton hotel announced it would move to a new location. The St. Regis Hotels & Resorts hotel took its place later that year. The St. Regis was later renamed the Westin in February 2000. It started to focus more on business travelers. In June 2002, Two Liberty Place was sold to Shorenstein Properties. On April 26, 2004, Cigna announced it would stay in Two Liberty Place. They received money from the city and state to help them. However, they decided to rent less space. With a lot of empty space, the owners sold Two Liberty Place to America's Capital Partners and Falcone Group.
Soon after buying Two Liberty Place, America's Capital Partners decided to turn the top floors of the skyscraper into fancy apartments. These apartments, called The Residences at Two Liberty, officially opened on March 7. In 2008, people who had just moved into the apartments were upset. There was a plan to put two large, bright red Unisys signs high up on Two Liberty Place. Unisys, a technology company, wanted to make four floors of the skyscraper its main office. The city's Zoning Board did not approve the signs. Unisys ended up not moving its headquarters, saying the economy was the reason.
The Westin Philadelphia hotel was sold in November 2005 to HEI Hotels & Resorts. In 2006, HEI Hospitality spent US$10 million to update the hotel. This included new decorations and adding wireless internet. On June 18, 2007, a new skyscraper, the Comcast Center, was completed. It officially became the tallest building in the city. The Comcast Center ended One Liberty Place's 19-year run as Philadelphia's tallest building.
How Liberty Place Looks
Liberty Place is a group of buildings that includes two skyscrapers, a hotel, a parking garage, and a shopping mall. These structures are all connected. It is located in Center City, Philadelphia. The buildings were designed by the architectural company Murphy/Jahn, based in Chicago. Architect Helmut Jahn designed One Liberty Place and helped with the rest of the complex.
The two skyscrapers have a steel frame. This frame is supported by eight large pillars around the outside of the buildings. There is also a central core that holds the elevators. The outside of the towers is made of granite, aluminum, and glass panels. More glass is used higher up on the towers' spires. The lower parts of the buildings and the rest of the complex are mostly made of stone.
The design of Liberty Place was inspired by the Bank of the Southwest Tower (which was never built in Houston). It also influenced other famous towers like the Messeturm in Frankfurt.
One Liberty Place
One Liberty Place is located at the corner of Market and 17th Streets. It is 61 stories tall. At 945 feet (288 m), it is the second-tallest building in Philadelphia. One Liberty Place has about 1,200,000 square feet (110,000 m2) of space inside.
Helmut Jahn, the architect, liked American eclecticism and Art Deco styles. When he designed Liberty Place, he used New York City's Chrysler Building as a model. The developer, Rouse, even called it the "Son of Chrysler" because they look so much alike. The most noticeable similarity is the 146-foot-tall (45 m) spire that sits on top of the skyscraper. One Liberty Place's spire has four angled steps, called gabled setbacks. These lead up to a 2-ton, 47-foot-long (14 m) steel spire at the very top. Unlike the Chrysler Building, One Liberty Place's steps have straight, sharp edges.
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Like the Chrysler Building, One Liberty Place has a square shape with corners that are set back. The outside of the building also takes ideas from the Chrysler Building. It uses glass and aluminum to create horizontal and vertical lines along the building's main part. The colors of the outside range from grays and silver to metallic blues. Horizontal bands of granite and glass are used to make the building's height seem less overwhelming. The building's main entrance area, called the lobby, has white and gray marble imported from Italy. The elevator areas and the elevators themselves have shapes that look like the building's spire. The elevator doors even show a simplified picture of One Liberty Place.
Two Liberty Place
Two Liberty Place was designed with the same ideas as One Liberty Place. It has a similar shape and a matching outside look. It is located at the corner of 16th and Chestnut Streets. Two Liberty Place is 847-foot-tall (258 m), making it the fourth-tallest building in the city. This 58-story skyscraper is shorter than One Liberty Place. However, it also has about 1,200,000 square feet (110,000 m2) of space inside. Two Liberty Place's spire has fewer angled steps, making it look a bit wider. This design allowed for more space inside, which was important for its first tenant, Cigna.
The floors from 37 and 40 to 57 have about 300,000 square feet (28,000 m2) of apartment space. These 122 fancy apartments, called The Residences at Two Liberty, are the highest in the city. They are located between 546 and 765 feet (166 and 233 m) above the ground. Each apartment has a cappuccino machine, Italian kitchen cabinets, and special appliances. They also offer concierge service, which means someone is there to help residents with their needs. The 37th floor has a full spa and sauna, a pool, and a fancy restaurant called R2L. This restaurant opened on January 21, 2010. It is 11,000 square feet (1,000 m2) big and can seat almost 300 people.
The apartments range in price from US$800,000 for a one-bedroom on the 40th floor to more than US$15 million for a very large 7,200-square-foot (670 m2) penthouse apartment. Because not many apartments were selling, the top part of the building was going to be turned into a small hotel in 2013. But there wasn't much interest in the hotel idea. So, in 2015, the top 10 floors of The Residences (floors 48–57) were planned to be turned into 60 more apartment units. Two Liberty Place's lobby was first designed just for Cigna. After Cigna used less space, three separate lobbies were made. Each has its own elevators: one for Cigna, one for other companies, and one for the residents.
Hotel and Shopping Mall
The Westin Philadelphia is a 14-story hotel on 17th Street. The Westin has 289 rooms, 14,000 square feet (1,300 m2) of meeting space, a ballroom, and a restaurant. Near the Westin's entrance on 17th Street is the entrance to Liberty Place's underground parking garage. This four-story garage can hold 750 cars. It also has an entrance on 16th Street.
The Shops at Liberty Place has 143,000 square feet (13,000 m2) of space. This two-story mall is on Chestnut Street, between 16th and 17th Street. It was designed to have about 80 to 85 stores, including a food court. The mall's main feature is a round atrium. This open space is topped by a large glass dome. The dome has many sides, letting in a lot of light. It also offers views of the Liberty Place towers and the PNC Bank Building. The glass dome was inspired by the main greenhouse at the New York Botanical Garden.
Who Uses Liberty Place
One Liberty Place Tenants
One Liberty Place's first two tenants were the railroad company Conrail and the law firm Hoyle, Morris & Kerr. Conrail rented space from August 1987 to 1992. Hoyle, Morris & Kerr moved in during November 1987. Another law firm, Reed Smith Shaw & McClay, also moved into the skyscraper in 1987. They rent space on floors 24 through 27. The law firm White and Williams rented space in 1990. They use floors 15 through 20.
Other companies that rent space include American International Group, a global consulting firm called ZS Associates, and a pharmaceutical consulting firm called Campbell Alliance. The brokerage firm Smith Barney rents space on the 42nd and 43rd floors. A law firm called Saltz, Mongeluzzi, Barrett and Bendesky rents space on the 52nd floor. JPMorgan Chase started renting space on the 47th floor in 1998.
New companies in the 2000s include Pelino & Lentz, and Clark Capital. Kleinbard Bell & Brecker rented space on the 46th floor in 2007. Baker Tilly has rented space on the 44th and 45th floors since 2008. Some past tenants include Pennrose Properties LLC, and the law firm Duane Morris. Cigna also used to rent space here until they moved all their operations to Two Liberty Place in 2006.
One Liberty Place is rented out and managed by Cushman & Wakefield. Their management office is on the 6th floor. Cushman & Wakefield's Philadelphia office is also located in One Liberty Place, on the 33rd floor.
In 2014, a company called Montparnasse 56 Group (M56) announced they would open an observation deck on the 57th floor of One Liberty Place. This observation deck, also called Philly from the Top, opened to the public on November 28, 2015. It is fully enclosed and offers amazing 360-degree views of the city. It is 883 feet above street level, making it the highest public viewing spot in Philadelphia as of 2016.
Two Liberty Place Tenants and Residents
Cigna rented all of Two Liberty Place from its opening until 1999. By 2007, Cigna had reduced its space in the tower. The empty office space in Two Liberty Place became available for other companies to rent for the first time.
The law firm Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott moved into space in January 2007. BremnerDuke Healthcare moved into the tower in 2008. Unisys Corp. had planned to make Two Liberty Place its main office but never moved in. The space Unisys rented is now being rented out to other companies. These include the real estate company Studley, Inc., which moved into the skyscraper in 2010. Other law firms like Duffy and Keenan, Kutak Rock, and Buchanan, Ingersoll & Rooney have also rented space in Two Liberty Place. Other tenants include the law firm Elliott Greenleaf and Republic First Bancorp.
Many famous people have lived in The Residences at Two Liberty. These include Tom Knox, who bought an apartment, and Chase Lenfest, the son of a media businessman. Bon Jovi lead guitarist Richie Sambora bought a luxury apartment on the 52nd floor. Other residents have included former Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels, former Philadelphia 76ers player Andre Iguodala, and leaders from companies like Comcast, GlaxoSmithKline, and Cigna. Because not many apartments were selling, the top floors (48–57) of the Residences at Two Liberty Place were going to be turned into a small hotel. But there wasn't much interest in the hotel. So, in 2015, the empty floors were instead being turned into 60 more apartment units.
See also
In Spanish: Liberty Place para niños
