Philadelphia City Hall
Philadelphia City Hall is the seat of the municipal government of the City of Philadelphia in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Built in the ornate Second Empire style, City Hall houses the chambers of the Philadelphia City Council and the offices of the Mayor of Philadelphia.[6][7]
Philadelphia City Hall
Completed
1 Penn Square
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
1901[1]
Cherelle Parker, Mayor of Philadelphia (2024–present)
548 ft (167 m)[1]
9[4]
630,000 sq ft (59,000 m2)[5]
December 16, 1976
December 8, 1976
This building is also a courthouse, serving as the seat of the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania. It houses the Civil Trial and Orphans' Court Divisions of the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County.[8][9][10] It also houses the Philadelphia facilities for the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania (which also holds session and accepts filings in Harrisburg and Pittsburgh).[11]
Built using brick, white marble and limestone, Philadelphia City Hall is the world's largest free-standing masonry building and was the world's tallest habitable building upon its completion in 1894. It was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1976; in 2006, it was also named a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers.[12]
Centre Square[edit]
City Hall is situated on land that was reserved as a public square upon the city's founding in 1682. Originally known as Centre Square—later renamed Penn Square[40]—it was used for public gatherings until the construction of City Hall began in 1871. Centre Square was one of the five original squares of Philadelphia laid out on the city grid by William Penn. The square had been located at the geographic center of Penn's city plan, but the Act of Consolidation in 1854 created the much larger and coterminous city and county of Philadelphia.[41] Though no longer at the exact center of the city, the square remains situated in the center of the historic area between the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers; an area which is now called Center City.
Penn had intended that Centre Square be the central focus point where the major public buildings would be located, including those for government, religion, and education, as well as the central marketplace. However, the Delaware riverfront would remain the de facto economic and social heart of the city for more than a century.[42][43]
Film appearances[edit]
City Hall has been a filming location for several motion pictures including Rocky (1976), Blow Out (1981), Trading Places (1983), Philadelphia (1993), 12 Monkeys (1995), National Treasure (2004), Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009), and Limitless (2011).[44]
View from City Hall's courtyard
Northern view of City Hall from North Broad Street
Southern view of City Hall from South Broad Street
Eastern view of City Hall from Market Street
Northwestern view of City Hall from the Ben Franklin Parkway
Western view of City Hall from Market Street
North Pavilion Sculpture created prior to 1893 by Alexander Milne Calder; photograph taken on October 19, 2010.
