SS UNITED STATES

SS United States is a retired ocean liner built in 1950-51 for the United States Line at a cost of $79.4 million. SS United States is the largest ocean liner constructed entirely in the United States and the fastest ocean liner to cross the Atlantic in either direction. On her maiden voyage, July 3-7, 1952, United States broke the eastbound transatlantic speed record (held by the RMS Queen Mary for the previous 14 years) by more than 10 hours, making the maiden crossing from the Ambrose lightship at New York Harbor to Bishop rock off Cornwall, UK in 3 days, 10 hours, 40 minutes at an average speed of 35.69 knots (40.96 mph). On her return voyage United States also broke the westbound transatlantic speed record, also held by RMS Queen Mary, by returning the America in 3 days 12 hours and 12 minutes at an average speed of 34.51 knots (39.71 mph). SS United States is currently moored at Pier 82 on the Delaware River in Philadelphia. Preservation groups have been raising funds to save the ship, but its fate remains uncertain.

SS UNITED STATES, PIER 82, COLUMBUS BOULEVARD, PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA
By Brian W. Schaller - Own work, FAL, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=61238420

WILLIAM PENN STATUE

William Penn is a bronze statue by Alexander Milne Calder of William Penn, the founder and namesake for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located atop the Philadelphia City Hall. It was installed in 1894. It was cast in fourteen sections and took almost two years to finish. At thirty-seven feet in height, it is tallest statue atop any building in the world. FUN FACT: For almost 90 years, an unwritten gentlemen’s agreement forbade any building in the city from rising above the hat on the Penn statue. This agreement ended in 1985, when final approval was given to the Liberty Place complex. Its centerpieces are two skyscrapers, One Liberty Place and Two Liberty Place, which rose well above the height of Penn’s hat. SEE ALSO: Philadelphia City Hall

WILLIAM PENN STATUE ATOP PHILADELPHIA CITY HALL

1894 - WILLIAM PENN STATUE READY FOR LIFTUP

PHILADELPHIA CITY HALL

Philadelphia City Hall serves as the seat of the municipal government of the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  It houses the chambers of the Philadelphia City Council and the offices of the Mayor of Philadelphia. It is also a courthouse, serving as the seat of the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania, and houses the Civil Trial and Orphans' Court Divisions of the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia. Built of brick, white marble, and limestone, Philadelphia City Hall is the world’s largest free-standing masonry building. The weight of the building is borne by granite and brick walls up to 22 feet thick. The building structure used over 88 million bricks and thousands of tons of marble and granite. The building was constructed from 1871 to 1901. Designed to be the world’s tallest building, it was surpassed during construction by the Washington Monument and the Eiffel Tower. Upon completion of its tower in 1894, it became the world’s tallest habitable building. It was also the first secular building to have this distinction, as all previous world’s tallest buildings were religious structures, including European cathedrals and – for the previous 3,800 years – the Great Pyramid of Giza. With almost 700 rooms, City Hall is the largest municipal building in the United States. FUN FACT: In the 1950s, the city council investigated tearing down City Hall for a new building elsewhere. They found that the demolition would have bankrupted the city due to the building’s masonry construction. SEE ALSO: William Penn Statue

NORTHSIDE OF PHILADELPHIA CITY HALL
By Toniklemm - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=81012838

COMCAST TECHNOLOGY CENTER – TALLEST BUILDING IN THE U.S. COMPLETED IN 2018

At a height of 1,121 feet, the Comcast Technology Center in Center City, Philadelphia is the tallest building in the U.S. completed in 2018. It is also the tallest building in Philadelphia and the state of Pennsylvania, the tenth-tallest building in the U.S. and the tallest building outside of Manhattan and Chicago. The Four Seasons Hotel, which is located on the top floor of the tower, will be the highest hotel in the U.S. when it opens later this year.

The Comcast Technology Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania