List of tallest buildings in Philadelphia facts for kids

The Philadelphia skyline from Boathouse Row in June 2019.

The Philadelphia skyline from the Delaware River in February 2023.

Philadelphia is the biggest city in Pennsylvania. It has over 300 tall buildings, with 58 of them being 330 feet (101 m) or taller. Out of these, 34 are 400 feet (122 m) or taller, and you can find them listed below.

The tallest building in Philadelphia is the 60-story Comcast Technology Center. It reached its full height of 1,150 feet (351 m) in 2017 and opened in 2018. This building is the tallest in the United States outside of New York City and Chicago. It's also the 14th-tallest building in the United States and the 96th-tallest in the world.

The second-tallest building in Philadelphia is the 58-story Comcast Center, which stands at 974 feet (297 m). The third-tallest is One Liberty Place, with 61 floors and a height of 945 feet (288 m). One Liberty Place was the tallest building in Pennsylvania for over 20 years until the Comcast Center was finished in 2008. Seven of the ten tallest buildings in Pennsylvania are in Philadelphia. The others are in Pittsburgh. Philadelphia is one of only five U.S. cities with two or more buildings over 900 feet (274 m) tall.

Philadelphia's history of tall buildings began in 1754. That's when the steeple was added to Christ Church, making it one of America's first very tall structures. For most of the 1900s, a "gentlemen's agreement" (an informal rule) kept buildings from being taller than the 548 feet (167 m) Philadelphia City Hall. Even with this rule, Philadelphia built many high-rise buildings. When One Liberty Place was finished in 1987, it broke this agreement. Since then, eleven more skyscrapers have been built that are taller than City Hall.

Philadelphia has twice had the tallest building in North America. First, it was Christ Church, then City Hall. City Hall was even the world's tallest building from 1894 to 1908. Today, it's the world's second-tallest building made mostly of stone, just a little shorter than the Mole Antonelliana in Turin. Like other big American cities, Philadelphia had a huge building boom in the 1970s and 1980s. This led to 20 skyscrapers being built that were 330 feet (101 m) or taller.

Philadelphia's Super Tall Buildings

A comparison of Philadelphia's seven tallest skyscrapers.

This list shows completed skyscrapers in Center City Philadelphia that are at least 400 feet (122 m) tall. The height includes spires and decorative parts, but not antennas. The "Year" column shows when the building was finished. An equal sign (=) means two or more buildings have the same height.

Rank	Name	Image	Height ft (m)	Floors	Year	Address	Notes
1	Comcast Technology Center		1,121 (342)	60	2018	1800 Arch Street	Started building in 2014, finished in 2017. It is the tallest building in Pennsylvania. It is also the tallest building in the U.S. outside of Manhattan and Chicago.
2	Comcast Center		974 (297)	58	2008	1701 John F. Kennedy Blvd	The 2nd-tallest building in Pennsylvania. It was the tallest building finished in Philadelphia in the 2000s.
3	One Liberty Place		945 (288)	61	1987	1650 Market Street	Philadelphia's first skyscraper taller than City Hall. It was the tallest building finished in Philadelphia in the 1980s.
4	Two Liberty Place		848 (258)	58	1990	1601 Chestnut Street	The tallest building finished in Philadelphia in the 1990s.
5	BNY Mellon Center		792 (241)	54	1990	1735 Market Street	Also known as Nine Penn Center.
6	Three Logan Square		739 (225)	55	1991	1717 Arch Street	Was once called Bell Atlantic Tower and Verizon Tower.
7	FMC Tower at Cira Centre South		736 (224)	49	2016	2929 Walnut Street	The tallest building in Philadelphia outside Center City.
8	G. Fred DiBona Jr. Building		625 (191)	45	1990	1901 Market Street	Was known as the Blue Cross-Blue Shield Tower and the IBX Tower.
9	The W Philadelphia and Element Philadelphia		617 (188)	51	2020	1441 Chestnut Street	The tallest building finished in Philadelphia in the 2020s.
10	The Laurel and 1909 Rittenhouse		604 (184)	50	2022	1909-11 Walnut Street	The tallest residential building in Philadelphia and Pennsylvania.
11=	One Commerce Square		565 (172)	41	1987	2005 W. Market Street	One and Two Commerce Square are the tallest twin buildings in Philadelphia.
11=	Two Commerce Square		565 (172)	41	1992	2001 W. Market Street	One and Two Commerce Square are the tallest twin buildings in Philadelphia.
13	Philadelphia City Hall		548 (167)	9	1901	1 Penn Square	Was the tallest building in the world from 1894 to 1908. It was the tallest building finished in Philadelphia in the 1900s.
14	Arthaus		528 (161)	47	2022	301 S. Broad Street
15	The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton		518 (158)	48	2009	1414 South Penn Square
16	1818 Market Street		500 (152)	40	1974	1818 Market Street	The tallest building finished in Philadelphia in the 1970s.
17	The St. James		498 (152)	45	2004	200 West Washington Square	When built, it was the tallest apartment building in Philadelphia.
18	Loews Philadelphia Hotel		492 (150)	36	1932	1200 Market Street	Was the PSFS Building. It was the tallest hotel until the Four Seasons opened in the Comcast Technology Center.
19	PNC Bank Building		491 (150)	40	1983	1600 Market Street
20=	Centre Square II		490 (149)	40	1973	Market and 15th streets
20=	Five Penn Center		490 (149)	36	1970	1601 Market Street
22	Murano		475 (145)	43	2008	2101 Market Street
23	One South Broad		472 (144)	28	1932	1 S. Broad Street	Was known as the Lincoln-Liberty Building and the PNB Building.
24=	2000 Market Street		435 (133)	29	1973	2000 Market Street
24=	Two Logan Square		435 (133)	35	1987	100 N. 18th Street
26	Cira Centre		434 (132)	28	2005	30th and Arch streets
27=	1700 Market		430 (131)	32	1968	1700 Market Street	The tallest building finished in the 1960s.
27=	Evo at Cira Centre South		430 (131)	33	2014	2930 Chestnut Street
29	1835 Market Street		425 (130)	29	1986	1835 Market Street	Its name changed from Eleven Penn Center in 2003.
30	Centre Square I		417 (127)	32	1973	Market and 15th streets
31	Jefferson Tower		412 (126)	32	1984	1101 Market Street	Was known as One Reading Center and the Aramark Tower.
32	Wells Fargo Building		405 (123)	29	1927	123 S. Broad Street	The tallest building finished in Philadelphia in the 1920s.
33	1706 Rittenhouse		401 (122)	33	2010	1706 Rittenhouse Square
34	One Logan Square		400 (122)	31	1983	130 N. 18th Street

Future Giants: Buildings Being Built or Planned

This section lists buildings that are at least 400 feet (122 m) tall and are currently being built, have been approved, or are planned for the future.

Under Construction

Approved

Proposed

How Philadelphia's Tallest Buildings Changed Over Time

An 1898 poster showing skyscrapers in Philadelphia.

Philadelphia has not had many different "tallest buildings" compared to other cities. Even though churches are not usually called skyscrapers, Christ Church became the tallest building in 1754 when its tall spire was added. It held this title for 102 years. Then, the spire of Tenth Presbyterian Church (which is no longer there) became the tallest. After that, City Hall took the top spot in 1894.

Because of a "gentlemen's agreement" (an unwritten rule) not to build higher than the statue of William Penn on top of City Hall, City Hall remained the city's tallest building for 93 years. It was also the world's tallest building that people could live or work in from 1894 until the Singer Building was finished in New York City in 1908.

Name	Image	Street address	Years as tallest	Height ft (m)	Floors	Architect	Reference
Independence Hall		520 Chestnut Street	1748–1754	134 (41)	2	Edmund Woolley and Andrew Hamilton
Christ Church		20 North American Street	1754–1856	196 (60)	—	Robert Smith
Tenth Presbyterian Church		17th & Spruce Streets	1856–1894	250 (76)	—	John McArthur Jr.
Philadelphia City Hall		Broad & Market Streets	1894–1987	548 (167)	9	John McArthur Jr.
One Liberty Place		1650 Market Street	1987–2008	945 (288)	61	Helmut Jahn
Comcast Center		1701 John F. Kennedy Boulevard	2008–2017	974 (297)	57	Robert A. M. Stern Architects
Comcast Technology Center		1800 Arch Street	2017–present	1,121 (342)	60	Norman Foster

See also

In Spanish: Anexo:Edificios más altos de Filadelfia para niños

• Buildings and architecture of Philadelphia
• List of tallest buildings in Pittsburgh
• List of tallest buildings in Pennsylvania
• List of tallest buildings in Camden
• List of tallest buildings in the United States