Yes, it is most absolutely the tallest masonry building in the world. It's a well-known fact in Philadelphia.
I've seen it in person, been inside of it. An impressive building indeed. But still the claim was that it was the largest municipal building in the US. I looked it up and saw the claim on other sites, but I still don't believe it.
I think Fresno's city hall shows a very futuristic design. But it also mirrors the look of the peaks of the nearby Sierra Nevada mountains. The building was designed by Arthur Erickson and opened in 1991.
It replaced the old 1941 city hall which was named by the Museum of Modern Art in New York as one of the most significant buildings constructed in the US from 1932 to 1944.
The pictures posted so far of Philadelphia City Hall fail to show it in context. It's quite large and the tower gives 5 clear views down the city's major roads.
and the other end of that Parkway
Just a side note.
Philadelphia's biggest subway station sits underneath connected to basically all of Philadelphia's transit lines and rail system and a large multiple block underground concourse.
I've seen it in person, been inside of it. An impressive building indeed. But still the claim was that it was the largest municipal building in the US. I looked it up and saw the claim on other sites, but I still don't believe it.
yeah, i think the claim that it is the largest municapl building in the nation is a bit dubious. for further proof, chicago's daley center is also larger.
daley center - 136,103s m²
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For a modern building (1993), I think Phoenix's 368' 20floor City Hall is quite nice:
And I TOTALLY agree with this:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Steely Dan
i find the daley center to be perhaps the most beautiful modernist skyscraper anywhere in the world, but i understand i have unusual tatses, so don't bother telling me that i'm stupid for having mad love for "just another stupid old boring black box". the daley center is simply magical to me.
Jacques Brownson took his lessons from Mies and did something totally wonderful.
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Seattle City Hall-- it has a creepy all-red room on the very lowest level, fountains in the plaza, waterfalls, the roof is grass, it's always 70 degrees inside and it smells like lilacs.
Photo by Chas Redmond:
PS, the 62-story office building behind it to the left is the city hall annex. It was bought for half-price in the mid-90s downturn.
Its gross square footage is easily higher than the other "largest municipal buildings" listed in this thread.
The proper titles for Phila city hall I think are
1) Largest Masonry Building in US
2) Tallest Municipal Building in World (or US?)
I can't really believe the skepticism, to be honest. It's a fact that it's the tallest masonry building in the world. I'm not sure about largest - I guess that would be measured in square footage? But even then, I still would have a hard time believing that it's not in the top 5. This thing took 30 years to build I mean come on now. Again, yet another source: http://weburbanist.com/2008/01/19/th...ing-city-hall/. It's 548 feet tall.
Philadelphia City Hall is the tallest occupiable masonry building in the world, Washington Monument be damned. It does have a steel support structure under the crown to support the weight of the 37-ton William Penn statue but there are no steel support members for the building itself. At over 631,000 square feet, it counts among the largest buildings in Philadelphia but it isn't the largest municipal building in the country anymore (for a short period it was the world's tallest building). That's another of those 'old' Philadelphia facts that's rarely corrected - it was only a couple of years ago we all learned a couple of skyscrapers weren't actually as tall as everyone thought they were.
The building is a marvel, inside and out and houses the city's only public observation deck, surprisingly. The top of the statue's hat (547 feet, 11 inches) was the city's unofficial height limit for decades though only one building constructed prior to the 80's dared to rise higher than 491 feet.
While I like Milwaukee's City Hall, I think Salt Lake City's is more attractive and monumental. This I believe is due in part to it's plot location, backdrop and symmetry. As far as Richardsonian styles go, it is by far one of the most beautiful buildings on the continent, IMO.
Does the Buffalo City Hall also function in an additional capacity, such as the county offices?
Many exceptional elements at the top and bottom of the structure, that I would travel to Buffalo to see first hand in the future. Very nice!
Also very taken by the workmanship on the Atlanta City Hall. Beautiful craftsmanship and also a very fine stone used.
There are a few seperate county buildings that hold all those particular offices.
Old County Hall...
another...
The following website has more info on city hall, along with pictures of both the outside and inside of the building. Check it out...