May | 2013 | harrynguyenblog

In order to properly choose three Philadelphia buildings that are worthy of glorifying the city of Philadelphia, I had to first think of characteristic that make the city unique to any other city. In my opinion this city will always be known for its rich history and great artistic culture. That is the reason I chose to use City Hall building, Independence Hall, and the Philadelphia Art Museum to glorify this city. I chose to use City Hall and Philadelphia Art Museum because they both contain art work that connects the city back to the artistic roots that developed in its early history. I used Independence Hall because it provokes the pride of being part of the foundation of the United States.

The first of the three buildings to be built is Independence Hall completed in 1753. Edmund Woolley was the main architect and planner of this 21 year project. Independence Hall is currently located at 520 Chestnut Street in Philadelphia. The original purpose of this building was to be used to hold government and public events. Most famously, Independence Hall was used as the location for the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. It is currently used as a historical landmark for tourism and is also the home of the Liberty Bell. This building was originally constructed to be a symbol “of the nation to come” (UShistory). Woolley designed this building with a Georgian style. This was a popular style in the mid to late 1700’s (Britanica). Since its completion Independence Hall had been renovated twice. The first renovation was done by Greek revival architect John Haviland in 1830. Then it was redone to resemble its original form in 1950 by the National Park Service. Independence Hall was used in the making of the film National Treasures. In this movie it served as a location that held a secret for early mason treasure. In this film Independence Hall was used to symbolize a location that still has so much historic value.

Chronologically, Philadelphia’s City Hall was erected next 1901. This building was designed by architect John McArthur Jr. and after completion it stood over 511 feet in height. City Hall was originally commissioned to be the tallest structure in the world, but the Eiffel tower was completed and took that title. Its original and current purpose is to serve as the home for all of Philadelphia’s government. John McArthur Jr. designed City Hall with a second empire style of architecture (NEarchitecture). Also known as Napoleon III style, this style of architecture was very popular during the latter half of the 19th century. This style had characteristics that included a large freestanding building with square planned rooms (Britanica). City Hall was used in the movie Law Abiding Citizens. In this movie City Hall was used as a symbol of symbol of justice that directly interacted with the characters.

Lastly, The Philadelphia Art Museum was built in 1876 by architects Horace Trumbauer and Julian Abele. The building was originally constructed to be an exhibition for the Centennial celebration in Memorial Hall at Fairmount Park. The exhibition quickly outgrew its location and in was rebuilt at 2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway Philadelphia, PA in 1928 . Today it serves as a museum that holds over 220,000 famous art pieces collected from all around the world (PhilaMuseum). Trumbauer and Abele designed the museum with a style of architecture called Greek revival. This style is based on ancient Greek Temples. Greek revival style was very popular in the beginning of the 19th century because it was a tribute to a period in history that symbolized wealth and intellectual advancement. Most Greek revival styled building all has similar characteristics. Some traits that were widely used in this style include the large columns and the use of marble or stone (Britanica). The Philadelphia Art Museum is no different the building is made up of what looks like three Ancient Greek temples that have Ionic sea style scrolled columns that tower the entrances. The Philadelphia Art Museum is an iconic location because it was featured in the Philadelphia based film Rocky. In Rocky, the museum was used as background location. The location was uniquely used in

the film because it was used as a vantage point that overlooked Philadelphia Skyline. When the Rocky Statue was erected in 1982 on the top of the museum steps it drew controversy from the art community. Some believed that the statue was a movie prop and degraded all of the artwork that was inside the museum.

City Hall, Independence hall and Philadelphia Art Museum are great examples for glorifying Philadelphia because they all provoke a sense of pride by its audience for the city. I chose these three sites because they all represent a form of classic architecture in a modern world. Although these buildings conflict with the urban and modern landscape of the city, they still are important because the classical architecture is used to pay tribute to the past.