As part of a wonderful birthday gift, Brit got me tickets to go see the Eagles beat Washington on a Thursday Night Football game, en route to winning the Super Bowl. As a result, we got to do something we have been meaning to do for a while, the City Hall Tower Tour, since it is only offered on weekdays.
Philadelphia City Hall is one of the grandest buildings ever built and it is the tallest structure ever built without a steel superstructure. 88 million bricks build up the tower, with the highest point being made of old ironwork. The initial city plan by William Penn himself stated that the land that city hall is located on must be a park. As part of an agreement to build this structure, they worked to maintain the land as a park. This special building is surrounded by a large amount of park space, and there are even corridors under the building and in its courtyards that are used specifically as park gathering spaces.
A carousel being set up in the main courtyard for holiday festivities.
The park area in and around City Hall is called Dilworth Park. This section of the park I particularly loved. It is currently set up as a small botanic garden. A "Winter Garden" with ample sitting space where people were taking in the scenery, sipping some hot chocolate, reading, and socializing. It is surrounded by holiday craft vendors and is just lovely. We did not have much time to linger, but I could totally see spending most of the day experiencing the holiday festivities.
Over the holidays they have an ice skating rink and holiday vendors around the building. In the summer there is a roller skating rink and more. It is one of my favorite places to hang out in Philly. The architecture is breathtaking and there is always something special about public gathering spaces in our great cities. Needless to say, I had really wanted to go up and do the tower tour up to the observation deck, but they only offer these tours on weekdays and to only four visitors per tour, since that is the capacity of the antique elevator that leads to the observation deck, 548 feet up.
From the observation deck, you can look straight up at the 37 foot tall statue of William Penn, and get stunning views in every direction of the city, looking straight up the seemingly endless Broad Street both north and south,
North up Broad Street, one of my favorite ways to drive into the city
South down Broad Street
......northwest up Benjamin Franklin Parkway to the Art Museum, Fairmount Park, and the winding Schuylkill River, due west into the stunning Center City skyline, with the grandeur and elegance of the Liberty Place towers.....
........and east over the remainder of the older portions of the Center City skyline, over Chinatown, out to Independence Hall, the Ben Franklin Bridge, and over the Delaware River into Jersey.
The views are absolutely breathtaking. I have a soft spot for observation decks on towers, but this one is really special, and it is the only currently public spot that I know of in Philly that you can take in these views. We went up into the former Liberty Place Observation Deck a few years ago, which has since closed, which had a spectacular view, but I really enjoy seeing the 360 degree views from this spot, and it is quite an adventure getting up there as well. This tower is one-of-a-kind. We highly recommend checking out the tour. For more information on how to go on the tour, check out their website. Keep in mind that their hours are very specific, Monday thru Friday from 10:00 AM to 2:45 PM. Unfortunately, due to the size of the elevator, the tour is also not wheelchair accessible. Reservations must be made on their websites. The tours leave every 15 minutes and are capped at a maximum of four visitors due to the size constraints on the elevator and observation deck. I highly recommend carving out some time though for this tour, because it is truly spectacular. Our tour guide Shane did a terrific job.
