Overview

This Walking Tour will also take you by and into some of Philadelphia's most prominent buildings. The buildings in this area are mostly from the mid-1800's through the present. Styles range from Beaux Arts, to Chicago and International style. We also wil see the newest and tallest buildings in Center City.

Description

Stop At: Reading Terminal Market, 12th and Arch, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19107

One of the last old time food halls in the US. Created in the 1890's, Reading Terminal Market has undergone many changes over the years but remains a remarkable example of shopping from an earlier era.

Duration: 5 minutes

Stop At: Loews Philadelphia Hotel, 1200 Market St, Philadelphia, PA 19107, USA

First International Style Building in the U.S., PSFS was created during the depression as a collaborative design between a local architect and a Swiss one using principles developed by the Bauhaus and European architects.

Duration: 5 minutes

Stop At: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 118 N Broad St, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19102

The oldest art school in the US and a magnificent example of Frank Furness' architecture, this is one of his remaining High Victorian Gothic masterpieces. It opened just in time for the Centennial Exposition of 1876.

Duration: 10 minutes

Stop At: Masonic Temple, 1 N Broad St, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19107

View the exterior of this magnificent structure created just after the end of the Civil War in Romanesque or Norman Castle style. If you have time, reserve a tour of the interior rooms which are spectacular.

Duration: 5 minutes

Stop At: City Hall Visitor Center, 1 Penn Square, Room 121, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19107

Walk around this great 2nd Empire Baroque Building, the largest municipal building in the U.S. It is the tallest masonry bearing wall building in the world, and the statue of William Penn on the tower is the tallest on any building in the world.

Duration: 10 minutes

Stop At: Macy's Philadelphia, 1300 Market St, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19107

View the Market Street National Bank's Art Deco facade across the Street and then enter the John Wanamaker Building. We will see the Grand Court and its grand organ.

Duration: 15 minutes

Stop At: The Ritz-Carlton, Philadelphia, 10 Ave Of The Arts, Philadelphia, PA 19102, USA

See the former Girard Bank Building then the Land Title Building across Chestnut Street. The Bank was originally designed by Frank Furness in his High Victorian Gothic style, but that was rejected. The Land Title building is the first in the city by Chicago architect Daniel Burnham who said:"Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men`s blood and probably themselves will not be realized. Make big plans; aim high in hope and work..."

Duration: 5 minutes

Stop At: The Union League of Philadelphia, 140 S Broad St, Philadelphia, PA 19102, USA

Great early example of 2nd empire baroque style and one of the only structures built in Philadelphia during the Civil War. The club was created to support the Union troops.

Duration: 5 minutes

Stop At: The Bellevue Hotel - The Unbound Collection by Hyatt, 200 S Broad St, Philadelphia, PA 19102, USA

Once the grandest hotel in America designed by George Hewitt, once a partner with Frank Furness. It is Beaux Arts stylistically with a French chateau look at the top.

Duration: 5 minutes

Stop At: Academy of Music, 232 S Broad St # 46, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19102

Original home of the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Academy of Music is based on La Scala in Milan and was originally an opera house. The Italianate façade was to be in marble, but brick and brownstone were substituted to save on the cost.

Duration: 5 minutes

Stop At: The Drexel Building, The Drexel Building, Philadelphia, PA 19102, USA

Great copy of the Strozzi Palace in Florence. Designed originally for Anthony Drexel's financial company, the exterior retains all the trimmings of Renaissance palazzos.

Duration: 5 minutes

Stop At: Shops at Liberty Place, 1625 Chestnut St, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103

Two towers that broke the 548' height barrier. There had been a gentleman's agreement to build no higher than the City Hall statue of William Penn, but that changed in the 1980's with these two buildings, opening the way for a more modern skyline.

Duration: 5 minutes

Stop At: Comcast Center, 1701 John F Kennedy Blvd, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103

1st and 2nd tallest buildings in Philadelphia. Comcast Center is a sleek combination of mirror and clear glass rising in a tapered form while the Comcast Innovation Center has 3 story groupings with a zig-zag pattern on the outside and a 10 story hotel at the top.

Duration: 10 minutes

Stop At: Penn Center/Suburban Station, 1600 JFK Blvd, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103

Art Deco headquarters of the Pennsylvania Railroad, this building was created in the 1930's to replace Frank Furness' High Victorian Gothic terminal across from City Hall. The style was intended to represent the sleekness and speed of modern trains.

Duration: 5 minutes

Stop At: Love Park, John F. Kennedy Blvd and North 15th St, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19102

Tour ends at the Love sculpture in what is referred to as Love Park. This park has now been redesigned several times and offers a variety of activities depending on the time of year, as well as a grand view up the Ben Franklin Parkway to the Art Museum.

Duration: 5 minutes