Mar 8, 2023 - Real Estate
Philly's best buildings contest: Final Four
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The numbers are in and 283 of you have decided the Final Four matchups in our best Philadelphia building tournament.
- Let's do this!
Liberty Place vs. City Hall
Liberty Place toppled the Fisher Fine Arts Library at Penn in our Elite Eight, taking 54.1% of the vote.
- The high-rise complex has dominated the city skyline since it went up more than 30 years ago.
- And even though One Liberty's observation deck closed to visitors in 2021, the building’s zigzagging lights got a fun new overhaul that same year.
City Hall, meanwhile, knocked off the Philadelphia Art Museum in the last round with 58.3% of the vote.
- Started in 1871 and completed in 1901, the elaborate French Renaissance-style building sits on one of the plots of land included in William Penn’s original 1682 plan for the city.
- Fun fact: The clocks atop City Hall measure 26 feet in diameter each.
PA Academy of the Fine Arts vs. Carpenters’ Hall
Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts had little trouble overcoming the Wanamaker Building, with 71% casting their votes for the former.
- Opened in 1876, and featuring cast-iron architecture, the building is now a National Historic Landmark.
Carpenters' Hall — the oldest building still in the tourney — ended the Shofuso House's run with 55.1% of the vote.
- As Philadelphians know, the "Birthplace of Liberty" hosted the meetings of the First Continental Congress in 1774 and was later captured by British troops.
- The two-story building is simple as it is sturdy and was designed by Robert Smith.
🗳 Final Four voting is open!
- And closes Wednesday at 3pm.