Center City, Philadelphia - May 25, 2010

Atop Philadelphia City Hall stands a statue of William Penn, the city founder and original proprietor of the then-British colony of Pennsylvania (meaning “Penn’s Woods”).For many decades, a “gentlemen’s agreement” stated that the Philadelphia Art Commission would approve no building in the city which would rise above the statue’s hat. This ended in March 1987, when a modern steel-and-glassskyscraper, One Liberty Place, opened three blocks away. One Liberty Place is taller than City Hall by 397 feet (121 m), rising 945 feet (288 m) in height compared to the height of Penn’s hat on city hall, 547 feet (167 m). Its sister skyscraper, Two Liberty Place, at 848 ft (258 m), soon followed.

This photograph was taken from the 37th floor of Two Liberty Place.

The statue looks towards Penn’s Landing on the Delaware River.