List of tallest buildings in Philadelphia facts for kids

Philadelphia skyline from Boathouse Row, 2019 (annotated version)

Philadelphia, the largest city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, is home to more than 300 completed high-rise buildings up to 330 feet (101 m), and 56 completed skyscrapers of 330 feet (101 m) or taller, of which 32 are 400 feet (122 m) or taller and are listed below. As of 2019^[update], the tallest building in the city is the 60-story Comcast Technology Center, which topped out at 1,121 feet (342 m) in Center City on November 27, 2017 and was completed in 2018. Comcast Technology Center is the tallest building in the United States outside Manhattan and Chicago, and is currently ranked as the fourteenth-tallest building in the United States. The second-tallest building in Philadelphia is the 58-story Comcast Center at 974 feet (297 m), while the third-tallest building is One Liberty Place, which rises 61 floors and 945 feet (288 m). One Liberty Place stood as the tallest building in Pennsylvania for over 20 years until the completion of Comcast Center in 2008. Overall, seven of the ten tallest buildings in Pennsylvania are in Philadelphia, with the remainder being in Pittsburgh. Philadelphia is one of only five American cities with two or more completed buildings over 900 feet (274 m) tall, the others being New York City, Chicago, Houston, and Los Angeles.

Philadelphia's history of tall buildings is generally thought to have begun with the 1754 addition of the steeple to Christ Church, which was one of America's first high-rise structures. Through most of the 20th century, a "gentlemen's agreement" prevented buildings from rising higher than the 548-ft (167-m) Philadelphia City Hall. Despite this, Philadelphia amassed a large collection of high-rise buildings. The completion of One Liberty Place in 1987 broke the agreement, and Philadelphia has since seen the construction of ten skyscrapers that eclipse City Hall in height.

Philadelphia has twice held the tallest habitable building in North America, first with Christ Church, then with City Hall. The latter reigned as the world's tallest building from 1894 to 1908, and is currently the world's second-tallest masonry building, only 1.6 feet (0.49 m) shorter than Mole Antonelliana in Turin. Like other large American cities, Philadelphia went through a massive building boom in the 1970s and 1980s, resulting in the completion of 20 skyscrapers of 330 feet (101 m) or taller.

As of 2020^[update], three high-rise construction projects are active in Philadelphia: the W Hotel & Element by Westin at 1441 Chestnut Street in Center City, with completion expected later in 2020; Arthaus and The Laurel, both residential buildings, with completion expected in 2021.

Tallest buildings

Comparison of the seven tallest skyscrapers

This list ranks completed and topped out skyscrapers in Center City Philadelphia that stand at least 400 feet (122 m) tall, based on standard height measurement, including spires and architectural details but excluding antenna masts. An equal sign (=) following a rank indicates the same height between two or more buildings. The "Year" column indicates the year in which a building was completed. The only demolished building that would have ranked on this list was the 492-foot (150 m) One Meridian Plaza, razed in 1999.      Was Pennsylvania's tallest building upon completion      Was world's tallest building upon completion

Rank	Name	Image	Height ft (m)	Floors	Year	Address	Notes
1	Comcast Technology Center		1121 1,121 (342)	60	2018	1800 Arch Street	Construction broke ground July 2014; topped out on November 27, 2017; currently the tallest building in Philadelphia, and the tallest building in the United States outside Manhattan and Chicago, the tenth-tallest building in the United States; opened to staff in July 2018 and the public in October 2018.
2	Comcast Center		974 (297)	58	2008	1701 John F. Kennedy Blvd	Second-tallest building in the state; 23rd-tallest building in the country; tallest building completed in Philadelphia in the 2000s
3	One Liberty Place		945 (288)	61	1987	1650 Market Street	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
4	Two Liberty Place		848 (258)	58	1990	1601 Chestnut Street	48th-tallest building in the country; tallest building completed in Philadelphia in the 1990s
5	BNY Mellon Center		792 (241)	54	1990	1735 Market Street	63rd-tallest building in the country; also known as Nine Penn Center
6	Three Logan Square		739 (225)	55	1991	1717 Arch Street	112th-tallest building in the country; formerly known as Bell Atlantic Tower and Verizon Tower
7	FMC Tower at Cira Centre South		736 (224)	49	2016	2929 Walnut Street	121st-tallest building in the country; the tallest building in Philadelphia outside Center City
8	G. Fred DiBona Jr. Building		625 (191)	45	1990	1901 Market Street	Formerly known as the Blue Cross-Blue Shield Tower and the IBX Tower
9	W Hotel & Element by Westin Philadelphia		617 (188)	51	2020	1441 Chestnut Street	Topped out; completion expected in 2020
10=	One Commerce Square		565 (172)	41	1987	2005 West Market Street
10=	Two Commerce Square		565 (172)	41	1992	2001 West Market Street
12	Philadelphia City Hall		548 (167)	9	1901	1 Penn Square	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 and the building had been partially occupied by then, making it the tallest habitable building in the United States and the world from 1894 until the completion of the Singer Building in 1908.
13	The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton		518 (158)	48	2009	1414 South Penn Square	Tallest residential building in the city
14	1818 Market Street		500 (152)	40	1974	1818 Market Street	Tallest building completed in Philadelphia in the 1970s
15	The St. James		498 (152)	45	2004	700 Walnut Street	Tallest building located east of Broad Street
16	Loews Philadelphia Hotel		492 (150)	36	1932	1200 Market Street	Formerly known as the PSFS Building; tallest hotel in the city, until the Four Seasons opens in the Comcast Technology Center; the building reaches a height of 750 feet (229 m) with its antenna; total building area is 631,006 square feet (58,622.4 m2)
17	PNC Bank Building		491 (150)	40	1983	1600 Market Street
18=	Centre Square II		490 (149)	40	1973	Market and 15th Streets
18=	Five Penn Center		490 (149)	36	1970	1601 Market Street
20	Murano		475 (145)	43	2008	2101 Market Street
21	One South Broad		472 (144)	28	1932	1 South Broad Street	Formerly known as the Lincoln-Liberty Building and the PNB (Philadelphia National Bank) Building
22=	2000 Market Street		435 (133)	29	1973	2000 Market Street
22=	Two Logan Square		435 (133)	35	1987	100 North 18th Street
24	Cira Centre		434 (132)	28	2005	30th and Arch Streets
25=	1700 Market		430 (131)	32	1968	1700 Market Street	Tallest building completed in the 1960s
25=	Evo at Cira Centre South		430 (131)	33	2014	2930 Chestnut Street
27	1835 Market Street		425 (130)	29	1986	1835 Market Street	Name was changed from Eleven Penn Center in 2003
28	Centre Square I		417 (127)	32	1973	Market and 15th Streets
29	Jefferson Tower		412 (126)	32	1984	1101 Market Street	Formerly known as One Reading Center and the Aramark Tower.
30	Wells Fargo Building		405 (123)	29	1927	123 South Broad Street
31	1706 Rittenhouse		401 (122)	33	2010	1706 Rittenhouse Square
32	One Logan Square		400 (122)	31	1983	130 North 18th Street

Tallest under construction

Tallest approved or proposed

This list includes buildings of 400 feet (122 m) or higher that have been approved or are proposed for construction in Philadelphia. The list is mainly based on the status of proposals on the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat's website, as of January 2020^[update].

* Table entries with dashes (—) indicate that a building's height, floor count, or estimated year of completion have not yet been released.

Cancelled or distressed

Timeline of tallest buildings

An 1898 poster of skyscrapers in Philadelphia.

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, 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.

Name	Image	Street address	Years as tallest	Height ft (m)	Floors	Architect	Reference
Independence Hall		520 Chestnut Street	1748–1754	134 (41)	00 2	Edmund Woolley and Andrew Hamilton
Christ Church		20 North American Street	1754–1856	196 (60)	00 —	Robert Smith
Tenth Presbyterian Church		17th & Spruce Streets	1856–1894	250 (76)	00 —	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	1121 1,121 (342)	60	Norman Foster

See also

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