Liberty Place

Liberty Place
One and Two Liberty Place
General information
Status	Complete
Type	Commercial offices Residential Hotel Retail
Location	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Groundbreaking	Phase 1: May 13, 1985 Phase 2: February 16, 1988
Completed	Phase 1: 1987 Phase 2: 1990
Owner	Sunbelt Management Parkway Properties Inc. Teacher Retirement System of Texas Falcone Group HEI Hospitality
Height
Architectural	945 feet (288 m) / 848 feet (258 m)
Top floor	Phase 1: 784 feet (239 m)
Technical details
Floor count	61 / 58
Floor area	111,483 square metres (1,199,990 sq ft)
Lifts/elevators	Phase 2: 24
Design and construction
Architect	Helmut Jahn
Architecture firm	Murphy/Jahn
Developer	Rouse & Associates
Structural engineer	Thornton Tomasetti
References

Liberty Place is a skyscraper complex in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The complex is composed of a 61-story, 945-foot (288 m) skyscraper called One Liberty Place, a 58-story, 848-foot (258 m) skyscraper called Two Liberty Place, a two-story shopping mall called the Shops at Liberty Place, and the 14-story Westin Philadelphia Hotel. Prior to the construction of Liberty Place, there was a "gentlemen's agreement" not to build any structure in Center City higher than the statue of William Penn on top of Philadelphia City Hall. The tradition lasted until 1984 when developer Willard G. Rouse III of Rouse & Associates announced plans to build an office building complex that included two towers taller than City Hall. There was a great amount of opposition to the construction of the towers with critics believing breaking the height limit would lead to construction of many more tall skyscrapers, ruining the livability and charm of Center City. Despite the opposition, construction of One Liberty Place was approved and the first phase of the project began in 1985 and was completed in 1987. When One Liberty Place was completed, it was the tallest skyscraper in Philadelphia.

Phase 2 of the project included Two Liberty Place, a hotel, a shopping mall, and a parking garage. Construction began 1988 after Cigna agreed to lease the entirety of the skyscraper. Construction was completed in 1990, making Two Liberty Place the second-tallest building in the city. The two towers held their place as first and second tallest buildings in Philadelphia until the Comcast Center was topped off in 2007. Liberty Place was received enthusiastically by critics and led to the construction of other tall skyscrapers giving Philadelphia what architecture critic Paul Goldberger called "one of the most appealing skylines of any major American city".