Portal:Philadelphia/Selected article archive/1 Comcast CenterComcast Center is a
skyscraper in
Center City,
Philadelphia. The 58-story, 975 feet (297 m) tower is the second-
tallest building in Philadelphia after the
Comcast Technology Center. Originally called One Pennsylvania Plaza when first announced in 2001, the Comcast Center underwent two redesigns before construction began in 2005. Designed by architect
Robert A. M. Stern for
Liberty Property Trust, the Comcast Center was delayed as the developers tried to get the site designated a Keystone Opportunity Improvement Zone. The designation would exempt tenants from most taxes for fifteen years as a way to encourage development in disadvantaged areas. Giving the Comcast Center the designation was supported by many state and city officials who hoped to keep corporations within Philadelphia, but was strongly opposed by other building owners who felt the building would have an unfair advantage in attracting tenants. Even though the bill was not approved in the
Pennsylvania General Assembly in 2004, Liberty Property Trust went forward with construction. At the beginning of 2005, the final redesign and its new name the Comcast Center was unveiled. The building is named after its lead tenant, cable company
Comcast, which makes the skyscraper its corporate headquarters. Leasing 1,094,212 square feet (100,000 m2), Comcast occupies 89 percent of the building. The building features retail and restaurant space and a connection to the nearby
Suburban Station. In the lobby is the Comcast Experience, which is a 2,000 square feet (190 m2) high-definition
LED screen that has become a tourist attraction. Designed to be environmentally friendly, the skyscraper is the tallest
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified building in the United States. Portal:Philadelphia/Selected article archive/2 The Inquirer Building on North Broad Street.The Philadelphia Inquirer is a morning daily
newspaper that serves the
Philadelphia metropolitan area. The newspaper, founded by John R. Walker and
John Norvell in June 1829 as The Pennsylvania Inquirer, is the third-oldest surviving daily newspaper in the United States. Owned by the local group
Philadelphia Media Holdings LLC, The Inquirer has the nineteenth-largest average weekday U.S.
newspaper circulation and has won eighteen
Pulitzer Prizes. The paper has risen and fallen in prominence throughout its history. The Inquirer first became a major newspaper during the
American Civil War when its war coverage was popular on both sides. The paper's circulation dropped after the war, then rose again by the end of the century. Originally supportive of the
Democratic Party, The Inquirer's political affiliation eventually shifted towards the
Whig Party and then the
Republican Party, before officially becoming politically independent in the middle of the 20th century. By the end of the 1960s, The Inquirer trailed its chief competitor, the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, and lacked modern facilities and experienced staff. In the 1970s,
new owners and editors turned the newspaper into one of the country's most prominent, winning 17 Pulitzers in 15 years. Its prestige has since waned because of cost-cutting and a shift of focus to more local coverage. Portal:Philadelphia/Selected article archive/3 Liberty Bell with Independence Hall beyond window across Chestnut St.
The Liberty Bell is an iconic
symbol of American
independence. Formerly placed in the steeple of the Pennsylvania State House (now renamed
Independence Hall), the bell today is located in the
Liberty Bell Center in
Independence National Historical Park. The bell was commissioned in 1752 by the
Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly from the
London firm of Lester and Pack (known subsequently as the
Whitechapel Bell Foundry), and was
cast with the lettering "Proclaim LIBERTY Throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants Thereof," a
Biblical reference from the
Book of Leviticus (25:10). The bell first cracked when rung after its arrival in Philadelphia, and was twice recast by local workmen John Pass and John Stow, whose last names appear on the bell. In its early years the bell was used to summon lawmakers to legislative sessions and to alert citizens about public meetings and proclamations. Many bells—most likely including the Liberty Bell—were rung on July 8, 1776 in Philadelphia to announce the first public reading of
the Declaration of Independence, four days after its signing. In the 1830s, the bell was adopted as a symbol by
abolitionist societies, who were the first to call it the Liberty Bell. The bell acquired its distinctive large crack in the early 19th century. A widespread story claims it cracked while ringing after the death of
Chief JusticeJohn Marshall in 1835. Beginning in 1885, the City of Philadelphia sent it to various expositions and patriotic gatherings. The bell attracted huge crowds wherever it went, additional cracking occurred and pieces were chipped away by
souvenir hunters. The last journey occurred in 1915, after which all requests were refused. The city allowed the
National Park Service to take custody of the bell after
World War II, with the city retaining ownership. In 1976, the bell was moved from its longtime home in Independence Hall to a glass pavilion across the street on
Independence Mall, and then to the larger Liberty Bell Center in 2003. The bell has a circumference of 12 ft (3.7 m), a diameter of 3.82 ft (1.16 m), and a mass of 2,080 lb (940 kg). Portal:Philadelphia/Selected article archive/4 Schuylkill Expressway, approaching the South Street exit.
The Schuylkill Expressway is a
freeway through southeastern
Montgomery County, Pennsylvania and the city of Philadelphia, and the easternmost segment of
Interstate 76 in the state of
Pennsylvania. It extends from the Valley Forge exit of the
Pennsylvania Turnpike in
King of Prussia, paralleling its namesake
Schuylkill River for most of the route, to the
Walt Whitman Bridge in
South Philadelphia. It serves as the primary corridor into Philadelphia from points west. Constructed over a period of ten years from 1949 to 1959, a large portion of the expressway predates the 1956 introduction of
Interstate Highway System; many of these portions were not built to contemporary standards. The rugged terrain and limited riverfront space covered by the route has largely stymied later attempts to upgrade or widen the highway, despite the road being highly over-capacity; it has become notorious for its chronic congestion. The Schuylkill Expressway is the busiest road in Philadelphia, as well as in the entire state of
Pennsylvania. Portal:Philadelphia/Selected article archive/5 I-95 southwest of Philadelphia.Interstate 95 in the state of Pennsylvania, officially known as the Delaware Expressway and locally known as "95," runs for 51 miles from the
Delaware state line near
Marcus Hook to the
New Jersey state line crossing the
Delaware River near
Yardley. It parallels its namesake
Delaware River for its entire route through the city of
Philadelphia and its suburbs. It is a major route through the city and the metropolitan
Delaware Valley, providing access to locally important landmarks such as
Philadelphia International Airport, the Philadelphia Sports Complex,
Penn's Landing, and
Franklin Mills. The road is among the busiest in the commonwealth, second only to the
Schuylkill Expressway. An estimated 169,000 motorists utilize the road daily. Portal:Philadelphia/Selected article archive/6 Independence Hall in 1855.
The history of Philadelphia goes back to its founding in 1682 by
William Penn. The area had earlier been inhabited by the
Lenape (Delaware)Indians and European settlers who first arrived in the area in the early 1600s. Philadelphia quickly grew into an important
colonial city and during the
American Revolution was the site of the
First and
Second Continental Congresses. After the Revolution the city served as the temporary capital of the
United States. At the beginning of the 19th century, the federal and state governments left Philadelphia, but the city was still the cultural and financial center of the country. Philadelphia became one of the first industrial centers in the United States, and the city contained a variety of industries, the largest being
textiles. After the
American Civil War, Philadelphia's government was controlled by an increasingly corrupt
Republicanpolitical machine and by the beginning of the 20th century the city was described as "corrupt and contented." Various reform efforts slowly changed city government with the most significant in 1950 when a new city charter strengthened the position of
mayor and weakened the
Philadelphia City Council. At the same time Philadelphia moved its support from the Republican Party to the
Democratic Party, which has since created a strong organization. The city's population began to decline in the 1950s as mostly white and middle-class families left for the suburbs. Many of Philadelphia's houses were in poor condition and lacked proper facilities, and
gang and
mafia warfare plagued the city. Revitalization and
gentrification of certain neighborhoods started bringing people back to the city. Promotions and incentives in the 1990s and the early 21st century have improved the city's image and created a
condominium boom in
Center City and the surrounding areas that has slowed the population decline. Portal:Philadelphia/Selected article archive/7 Philadelphia skyline with the five tallest buildings being (left-to-right)
Comcast Technology Center,
Comcast Center,
BNY Mellon Center,
One Liberty Place and
Two Liberty Place
At the top of the list of tallest buildings in Philadelphia 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 outside lower Manhattan and Chicago, and is the tenth-
tallest building in the United States, as of 2019[update]. Philadelphia is home to more than 300 completed
high-rise buildings up to 330 feet (100 m), and 56 completed skyscrapers of 330 feet (100 m) or taller, of which 31 are 400 feet (122 m) or taller.
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 (270 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. 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 (100 m) or taller. Portal:Philadelphia/Selected article archive/8 The Blue Route north of US 1.Interstate 476 is a 132.10 mi (212.59 km)-long
auxiliaryInterstate Highway, designated between
Interstate 95 near
Chester, Pennsylvania and
Interstate 81 near
Scranton, Pennsylvania. It serve as the primary north-south Interstate corridor through eastern
Pennsylvania. It consists of both the 21.5-mile Mid-County Expressway, locally referred to as the "Blue Route", through the suburban-Philadelphia counties of
Delaware and
Montgomery, and the 110.6-mile Northeast Extension of the
Pennsylvania Turnpike, which connects the
Philadelphia metropolitan area with the
Lehigh Valley, the
Poconos, and the
Scranton-
Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area. Proposed as early as 1929, construction of the Mid-County Expressway through Delaware County was not completed until 1991 due to massive community and environmental opposition during the
freeway revolts of the 1960s and 1970s. After completion of the Mid-County Expressway, in 1996 the Interstate 476 designation was extended to include the entire length of the existing Northeast Extension. Since the extension, I-476 has been the longest auxiliary
Interstate highway in the
United States. Portal:Philadelphia/Selected article archive/9 Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States, by [Howard Chandler Christy.
The Philadelphia Convention took place from May 25 to September 17, 1787, to address problems in
the United States of America following independence from
Great Britain. At what came to be known as the
Annapolis Convention, the few state delegates in attendance endorsed a motion that called for all states to meet in Philadelphia in May, 1787 to discuss ways to improve the
Articles of Confederation in a "Grand Convention." Although it was purportedly intended only to revise the Articles of Confederation, the intention of many of the Convention's proponents, chief among them
James Madison and
Alexander Hamilton, were from the outset to create a new government rather than "fix" the existing one. The delegates elected George Washington to preside over the convention. The result of the Convention was the
United States Constitution. The Convention is one of the central events in the
history of the United States. Portal:Philadelphia/Selected article archive/10 The iconic Liberty Bell at Citizens Bank Park.
The list of Philadelphia Phillies seasons documents the season-by-season records of the
Phillies' franchise including their years as the "Quakers" and the years where they shared the names "Quakers" and "Phillies." The team was formed in the
National League after the dissolution of the
Worcester Ruby Legs in
1883, though there is no additional connection between the teams. At times, the Phillies' search for success has been seen as an exercise in futility, because of their long stretches of losing seasons, including an
MLB-record sixteen straight from
1933 to
1948. However, the Phillies do own five National League pennants, won in
1915,
1950,
1980,
1983, and
1993, as well as two
World Series championships - in
1980 over the
Kansas City Royals and in
2008 over the
Tampa Bay Rays. The Phillies also enjoyed an extended period of success in their history from
1975 to
1983, when they won five
East Division championships as well as the first-half championship in the
strike-shortened 1981 season. The team is currently having a period of extended success as well. They have finished with a
winning percentage over .500 in all but one year since
2000; however, this winning has not translated to playoff success, as the team had been consistently left out until their division championship in
2007. Over their 124 completed seasons (through 2007), they have played 18,881 games, winning 8,853 and losing 10,028, for a winning percentage of .469. The Phillies are also a combined total of 22–38 (.367) in
post-season play. Portal:Philadelphia/Selected article archive/11 Rohm and Haas Corporate Headquarters in 2007
The Rohm and Haas Corporate Headquarters in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the
headquarters for the
chemical manufacturing company
Rohm and Haas. Completed in 1964, the building was the first private investment for the
urban renewal of the
Independence Mall area. Only two blocks from
Independence Hall, the building, designed by
Pietro Belluschi and George M. Ewing Co., was lauded for its respect to the nearby park and historical buildings. Philadelphia's city planners praised the building as a standard for all redevelopment buildings. The nine-story edifice's most notable feature is its
facade of translucent, corrugated sunscreens; held in place by
aluminumlattices, the sunscreens are made of Rohm and Haas's principal product,
Plexiglas. In 2007 the building was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places and is today considered one of the best examples of the
International style. Portal:Philadelphia/Selected article archive/12 Eagles 1999 1st round draft pick Donovan McNabb.
The list of Philadelphia Eagles first-round draft picks began three years after the professional
American football team based in
Philadelphia joined the
National Football League (NFL) in
1933 as a replacement team for the defunct
Frankford Yellow Jackets. After the
AFL–NFL merger, the
Eagles were moved to the current
NFC East division. Every April, each NFL franchise adds new players to its roster through a collegiate
draft held at the "
NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting", more commonly known as the NFL draft. Teams are ranked in inverse order based on their previous season's records, with the worst record picking first, the second-worst picking second, and so on. Two exceptions to this order are made for teams that played in the previous
Super Bowl: the Super Bowl champion picks last, and the Super Bowl loser picks next to last. Teams often trade their picks to other teams for different picks, players, cash, or combinations thereof; thus, it is not uncommon for a team's actual pick to differ from its assigned pick, or for a team to have extra or no draft picks in any round. The Eagles' first selection as an NFL team was
running backJay Berwanger from the
University of Chicago. The Eagles have selected number one overall three times: Berwanger in
1936,
Sam Francis in
1937, and
Chuck Bednarik in
1949, as well as second overall five times, and third overall three times. Three eventual
Hall of Famers have been drafted by the Eagles:
Steve Van Buren, Bednarik, and
Bob Brown. The team's most recent first-round choice was
Brodrick Bunkley, a
defensive tackle from
Florida State University. Portal:Philadelphia/Selected article archive/13 Earle Mack School of Law.
The Earle Mack School of Law is the law school of
Philadelphia's
Drexel University. The school, which opened in Fall 2006, was the first new law school in the area in over thirty years, and is the newest school within Drexel. Serving both undergraduate and graduate students, the school offers Juris Doctor degrees and requires all students to take part in their
cooperative education program. The 65,000-square-foot (6,000 m2) complex features a
moot courtroom, a two-floor library, a two-story
atrium for meetings and casual conversation, faculty/staff offices, and several rooms for students to meet and work; the building also shares the campus-wide
wireless Internet access. The permanent location for the law school, on the corner of 33rd and Chestnut Streets, is projected to be completed and open in 2012. The inaugural class of the Earle Mack School of Law began classes on August 16, 2006. Portal:Philadelphia/Selected article archive/14 Exterior of Congress Hall.
Portal:Philadelphia/Selected article archive/1 Comcast CenterComcast Center is a
skyscraper in
Center City,
Philadelphia. The 58-story, 975 feet (297 m) tower is the second-
tallest building in Philadelphia after the
Comcast Technology Center. Originally called One Pennsylvania Plaza when first announced in 2001, the Comcast Center underwent two redesigns before construction began in 2005. Designed by architect
Robert A. M. Stern for
Liberty Property Trust, the Comcast Center was delayed as the developers tried to get the site designated a Keystone Opportunity Improvement Zone. The designation would exempt tenants from most taxes for fifteen years as a way to encourage development in disadvantaged areas. Giving the Comcast Center the designation was supported by many state and city officials who hoped to keep corporations within Philadelphia, but was strongly opposed by other building owners who felt the building would have an unfair advantage in attracting tenants. Even though the bill was not approved in the
Pennsylvania General Assembly in 2004, Liberty Property Trust went forward with construction. At the beginning of 2005, the final redesign and its new name the Comcast Center was unveiled. The building is named after its lead tenant, cable company
Comcast, which makes the skyscraper its corporate headquarters. Leasing 1,094,212 square feet (100,000 m2), Comcast occupies 89 percent of the building. The building features retail and restaurant space and a connection to the nearby
Suburban Station. In the lobby is the Comcast Experience, which is a 2,000 square feet (190 m2) high-definition
LED screen that has become a tourist attraction. Designed to be environmentally friendly, the skyscraper is the tallest
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified building in the United States. Portal:Philadelphia/Selected article archive/2 The Inquirer Building on North Broad Street.The Philadelphia Inquirer is a morning daily
newspaper that serves the
Philadelphia metropolitan area. The newspaper, founded by John R. Walker and
John Norvell in June 1829 as The Pennsylvania Inquirer, is the third-oldest surviving daily newspaper in the United States. Owned by the local group
Philadelphia Media Holdings LLC, The Inquirer has the nineteenth-largest average weekday U.S.
newspaper circulation and has won eighteen
Pulitzer Prizes. The paper has risen and fallen in prominence throughout its history. The Inquirer first became a major newspaper during the
American Civil War when its war coverage was popular on both sides. The paper's circulation dropped after the war, then rose again by the end of the century. Originally supportive of the
Democratic Party, The Inquirer's political affiliation eventually shifted towards the
Whig Party and then the
Republican Party, before officially becoming politically independent in the middle of the 20th century. By the end of the 1960s, The Inquirer trailed its chief competitor, the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, and lacked modern facilities and experienced staff. In the 1970s,
new owners and editors turned the newspaper into one of the country's most prominent, winning 17 Pulitzers in 15 years. Its prestige has since waned because of cost-cutting and a shift of focus to more local coverage. Portal:Philadelphia/Selected article archive/3 Liberty Bell with Independence Hall beyond window across Chestnut St.
The Liberty Bell is an iconic
symbol of American
independence. Formerly placed in the steeple of the Pennsylvania State House (now renamed
Independence Hall), the bell today is located in the
Liberty Bell Center in
Independence National Historical Park. The bell was commissioned in 1752 by the
Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly from the
London firm of Lester and Pack (known subsequently as the
Whitechapel Bell Foundry), and was
cast with the lettering "Proclaim LIBERTY Throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants Thereof," a
Biblical reference from the
Book of Leviticus (25:10). The bell first cracked when rung after its arrival in Philadelphia, and was twice recast by local workmen John Pass and John Stow, whose last names appear on the bell. In its early years the bell was used to summon lawmakers to legislative sessions and to alert citizens about public meetings and proclamations. Many bells—most likely including the Liberty Bell—were rung on July 8, 1776 in Philadelphia to announce the first public reading of
the Declaration of Independence, four days after its signing. In the 1830s, the bell was adopted as a symbol by
abolitionist societies, who were the first to call it the Liberty Bell. The bell acquired its distinctive large crack in the early 19th century. A widespread story claims it cracked while ringing after the death of
Chief JusticeJohn Marshall in 1835. Beginning in 1885, the City of Philadelphia sent it to various expositions and patriotic gatherings. The bell attracted huge crowds wherever it went, additional cracking occurred and pieces were chipped away by
souvenir hunters. The last journey occurred in 1915, after which all requests were refused. The city allowed the
National Park Service to take custody of the bell after
World War II, with the city retaining ownership. In 1976, the bell was moved from its longtime home in Independence Hall to a glass pavilion across the street on
Independence Mall, and then to the larger Liberty Bell Center in 2003. The bell has a circumference of 12 ft (3.7 m), a diameter of 3.82 ft (1.16 m), and a mass of 2,080 lb (940 kg). Portal:Philadelphia/Selected article archive/4 Schuylkill Expressway, approaching the South Street exit.
The Schuylkill Expressway is a
freeway through southeastern
Montgomery County, Pennsylvania and the city of Philadelphia, and the easternmost segment of
Interstate 76 in the state of
Pennsylvania. It extends from the Valley Forge exit of the
Pennsylvania Turnpike in
King of Prussia, paralleling its namesake
Schuylkill River for most of the route, to the
Walt Whitman Bridge in
South Philadelphia. It serves as the primary corridor into Philadelphia from points west. Constructed over a period of ten years from 1949 to 1959, a large portion of the expressway predates the 1956 introduction of
Interstate Highway System; many of these portions were not built to contemporary standards. The rugged terrain and limited riverfront space covered by the route has largely stymied later attempts to upgrade or widen the highway, despite the road being highly over-capacity; it has become notorious for its chronic congestion. The Schuylkill Expressway is the busiest road in Philadelphia, as well as in the entire state of
Pennsylvania. Portal:Philadelphia/Selected article archive/5 I-95 southwest of Philadelphia.Interstate 95 in the state of Pennsylvania, officially known as the Delaware Expressway and locally known as "95," runs for 51 miles from the
Delaware state line near
Marcus Hook to the
New Jersey state line crossing the
Delaware River near
Yardley. It parallels its namesake
Delaware River for its entire route through the city of
Philadelphia and its suburbs. It is a major route through the city and the metropolitan
Delaware Valley, providing access to locally important landmarks such as
Philadelphia International Airport, the Philadelphia Sports Complex,
Penn's Landing, and
Franklin Mills. The road is among the busiest in the commonwealth, second only to the
Schuylkill Expressway. An estimated 169,000 motorists utilize the road daily. Portal:Philadelphia/Selected article archive/6 Independence Hall in 1855.
The history of Philadelphia goes back to its founding in 1682 by
William Penn. The area had earlier been inhabited by the
Lenape (Delaware)Indians and European settlers who first arrived in the area in the early 1600s. Philadelphia quickly grew into an important
colonial city and during the
American Revolution was the site of the
First and
Second Continental Congresses. After the Revolution the city served as the temporary capital of the
United States. At the beginning of the 19th century, the federal and state governments left Philadelphia, but the city was still the cultural and financial center of the country. Philadelphia became one of the first industrial centers in the United States, and the city contained a variety of industries, the largest being
textiles. After the
American Civil War, Philadelphia's government was controlled by an increasingly corrupt
Republicanpolitical machine and by the beginning of the 20th century the city was described as "corrupt and contented." Various reform efforts slowly changed city government with the most significant in 1950 when a new city charter strengthened the position of
mayor and weakened the
Philadelphia City Council. At the same time Philadelphia moved its support from the Republican Party to the
Democratic Party, which has since created a strong organization. The city's population began to decline in the 1950s as mostly white and middle-class families left for the suburbs. Many of Philadelphia's houses were in poor condition and lacked proper facilities, and
gang and
mafia warfare plagued the city. Revitalization and
gentrification of certain neighborhoods started bringing people back to the city. Promotions and incentives in the 1990s and the early 21st century have improved the city's image and created a
condominium boom in
Center City and the surrounding areas that has slowed the population decline. Portal:Philadelphia/Selected article archive/7 Philadelphia skyline with the five tallest buildings being (left-to-right)
Comcast Technology Center,
Comcast Center,
BNY Mellon Center,
One Liberty Place and
Two Liberty Place
At the top of the list of tallest buildings in Philadelphia 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 outside lower Manhattan and Chicago, and is the tenth-
tallest building in the United States, as of 2019[update]. Philadelphia is home to more than 300 completed
high-rise buildings up to 330 feet (100 m), and 56 completed skyscrapers of 330 feet (100 m) or taller, of which 31 are 400 feet (122 m) or taller.
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 (270 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. 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 (100 m) or taller. Portal:Philadelphia/Selected article archive/8 The Blue Route north of US 1.Interstate 476 is a 132.10 mi (212.59 km)-long
auxiliaryInterstate Highway, designated between
Interstate 95 near
Chester, Pennsylvania and
Interstate 81 near
Scranton, Pennsylvania. It serve as the primary north-south Interstate corridor through eastern
Pennsylvania. It consists of both the 21.5-mile Mid-County Expressway, locally referred to as the "Blue Route", through the suburban-Philadelphia counties of
Delaware and
Montgomery, and the 110.6-mile Northeast Extension of the
Pennsylvania Turnpike, which connects the
Philadelphia metropolitan area with the
Lehigh Valley, the
Poconos, and the
Scranton-
Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area. Proposed as early as 1929, construction of the Mid-County Expressway through Delaware County was not completed until 1991 due to massive community and environmental opposition during the
freeway revolts of the 1960s and 1970s. After completion of the Mid-County Expressway, in 1996 the Interstate 476 designation was extended to include the entire length of the existing Northeast Extension. Since the extension, I-476 has been the longest auxiliary
Interstate highway in the
United States. Portal:Philadelphia/Selected article archive/9 Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States, by [Howard Chandler Christy.
The Philadelphia Convention took place from May 25 to September 17, 1787, to address problems in
the United States of America following independence from
Great Britain. At what came to be known as the
Annapolis Convention, the few state delegates in attendance endorsed a motion that called for all states to meet in Philadelphia in May, 1787 to discuss ways to improve the
Articles of Confederation in a "Grand Convention." Although it was purportedly intended only to revise the Articles of Confederation, the intention of many of the Convention's proponents, chief among them
James Madison and
Alexander Hamilton, were from the outset to create a new government rather than "fix" the existing one. The delegates elected George Washington to preside over the convention. The result of the Convention was the
United States Constitution. The Convention is one of the central events in the
history of the United States. Portal:Philadelphia/Selected article archive/10 The iconic Liberty Bell at Citizens Bank Park.
The list of Philadelphia Phillies seasons documents the season-by-season records of the
Phillies' franchise including their years as the "Quakers" and the years where they shared the names "Quakers" and "Phillies." The team was formed in the
National League after the dissolution of the
Worcester Ruby Legs in
1883, though there is no additional connection between the teams. At times, the Phillies' search for success has been seen as an exercise in futility, because of their long stretches of losing seasons, including an
MLB-record sixteen straight from
1933 to
1948. However, the Phillies do own five National League pennants, won in
1915,
1950,
1980,
1983, and
1993, as well as two
World Series championships - in
1980 over the
Kansas City Royals and in
2008 over the
Tampa Bay Rays. The Phillies also enjoyed an extended period of success in their history from
1975 to
1983, when they won five
East Division championships as well as the first-half championship in the
strike-shortened 1981 season. The team is currently having a period of extended success as well. They have finished with a
winning percentage over .500 in all but one year since
2000; however, this winning has not translated to playoff success, as the team had been consistently left out until their division championship in
2007. Over their 124 completed seasons (through 2007), they have played 18,881 games, winning 8,853 and losing 10,028, for a winning percentage of .469. The Phillies are also a combined total of 22–38 (.367) in
post-season play. Portal:Philadelphia/Selected article archive/11 Rohm and Haas Corporate Headquarters in 2007
The Rohm and Haas Corporate Headquarters in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the
headquarters for the
chemical manufacturing company
Rohm and Haas. Completed in 1964, the building was the first private investment for the
urban renewal of the
Independence Mall area. Only two blocks from
Independence Hall, the building, designed by
Pietro Belluschi and George M. Ewing Co., was lauded for its respect to the nearby park and historical buildings. Philadelphia's city planners praised the building as a standard for all redevelopment buildings. The nine-story edifice's most notable feature is its
facade of translucent, corrugated sunscreens; held in place by
aluminumlattices, the sunscreens are made of Rohm and Haas's principal product,
Plexiglas. In 2007 the building was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places and is today considered one of the best examples of the
International style. Portal:Philadelphia/Selected article archive/12 Eagles 1999 1st round draft pick Donovan McNabb.
The list of Philadelphia Eagles first-round draft picks began three years after the professional
American football team based in
Philadelphia joined the
National Football League (NFL) in
1933 as a replacement team for the defunct
Frankford Yellow Jackets. After the
AFL–NFL merger, the
Eagles were moved to the current
NFC East division. Every April, each NFL franchise adds new players to its roster through a collegiate
draft held at the "
NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting", more commonly known as the NFL draft. Teams are ranked in inverse order based on their previous season's records, with the worst record picking first, the second-worst picking second, and so on. Two exceptions to this order are made for teams that played in the previous
Super Bowl: the Super Bowl champion picks last, and the Super Bowl loser picks next to last. Teams often trade their picks to other teams for different picks, players, cash, or combinations thereof; thus, it is not uncommon for a team's actual pick to differ from its assigned pick, or for a team to have extra or no draft picks in any round. The Eagles' first selection as an NFL team was
running backJay Berwanger from the
University of Chicago. The Eagles have selected number one overall three times: Berwanger in
1936,
Sam Francis in
1937, and
Chuck Bednarik in
1949, as well as second overall five times, and third overall three times. Three eventual
Hall of Famers have been drafted by the Eagles:
Steve Van Buren, Bednarik, and
Bob Brown. The team's most recent first-round choice was
Brodrick Bunkley, a
defensive tackle from
Florida State University. Portal:Philadelphia/Selected article archive/13 Earle Mack School of Law.
The Earle Mack School of Law is the law school of
Philadelphia's
Drexel University. The school, which opened in Fall 2006, was the first new law school in the area in over thirty years, and is the newest school within Drexel. Serving both undergraduate and graduate students, the school offers Juris Doctor degrees and requires all students to take part in their
cooperative education program. The 65,000-square-foot (6,000 m2) complex features a
moot courtroom, a two-floor library, a two-story
atrium for meetings and casual conversation, faculty/staff offices, and several rooms for students to meet and work; the building also shares the campus-wide
wireless Internet access. The permanent location for the law school, on the corner of 33rd and Chestnut Streets, is projected to be completed and open in 2012. The inaugural class of the Earle Mack School of Law began classes on August 16, 2006. Portal:Philadelphia/Selected article archive/14 Exterior of Congress Hall.