That's one thing that is sorely missing, since the observation deck at the Penn Mutual Tower on the southside of Independence Park was closed, when the owners wanted the the floorspace to expand the offices. Not many years later Penn Mutual ended up shifting many of the workers to a suburban office park.

Of course there's that infernal Zoo Balloon, but there are those of us who don't wish to try ballooning, tightly tethered or not. And there's City Hall Tower.

A lot of people were speculating that Liberty Place would include an observation deck, but a primary problem, in any commercial building, is the need, for security and practical reasons, to have at least one dedicated elevator and shaft. This reduces rentable space significantly, when you consider that the shaft will substract from floorspace on every floor.

But, yes, I think a higher observation tower could be a great thing. In today's world, an observation tower as a standalone structure would probably be funded partly thru corporate naming rights - hence we'd have Commerce Bank Spire or somesuch.

Pittsburgh has one great advantage. Their statement landmark is the entire Golden Triangle as seen from Mount Washington's lofty vantages all along Grandview Avenue (not so-named for nothing) across and high above the the Monongahela River. The icing on the cake it that you can slowly glide down the face of Mt Washington on either of two inclined planes, the Monongahela and the Duquesne. Pittsburgh at one time had a number of inclined planes in several sections of the city.

http://incline.pghfree.net/



USA Weekend rated The 10 Most Beautiful Places in America and put "Nighttime view from Mount Washington in Pittsburgh" in 2nd place, 4 notches higher than the Golden Gate Bridge.

http://www.usaweekend.com/03_issues/...ingtravel.html

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Cheers,
Jayfar
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“I am indeed well aware of the history of Conventional (sic) Hall, both globally and locally, and can assure you that we are carefully exploring avenues for its future.” -- Penn President Amy Gutmann 5 days before demolition began.

I thought Philadelphia was a landmark?
I think of it as a fine work that needs a little polish and perhaps some repair
.
Just imagine.
Steets full of content people who are working and able to pay the bills (taxes and utilities go down to to efficient management)
Streets that are clean.
Streets where the mentally ill are not lying in thier own filth because of centers that are able to deal with medical needs.
Streets where clean busses, trolleys and trains come together, regularly.
Streets where politicians are able to walk or wait for busses safely, because they are honest.

Geeze who wrote that crap? what am I smoking?
Ha! Ha! Ha!
Yeah, Hear comes Santa Claus...............

Yes Ty, Philadelphia definitely should concentrate on polishing up itself as you say, but that idea needs an entire different thread of its own.

I know these original subjects/threads eventually get fragmented into a zillion subtopics. Lets try and stay focused at least for a little while on whether or not Philaelphia would benefit from a world class landmark, preferably with an observation deck/skytop restaurant included.

Would a classy piece of vertical Architecture move Philadelphia's tourism industry from 16th in the country up a few notches ? Seeing how we are smack dab in the middle of two of the top 5 tourist destinations NYC + washington DC, Philly at 16 is definitely underacheiving.

Does Philadelphia need a bigger ICON to divert some of those tour buses off of the NJ Turnpike? These buses are filled with school students and travel groups from as far away as Arizona and Switzerland, and for the most part they bypass Philadelphia.

In a word. No.

I say we make a great big, giant, stainless steel cheesesteak that rivials Jacob's ladder in height. Or a greal big middle finger that pierces the night time sky , so that the arch , the space needle and all other symbols know what we think of them.

A "statement landmark" wouldn't have to be antithetical to everything Philadelphia is about, nor would it have to spell financial ruin on the city. And really, it would be kind of nifty to have something original-looking, and a public observation deck too.

But if we build one, let's build it for under $1 million.

No, seriously... wasn't the Eiffel Tower done cheaply, ie. completed in a few weeks and made entirely out of standard pre-fab parts, almost like a construction crane? (And let's not forget that when the it was built it the general sentiment was that it's a monstrosity and should be torn down immediately.)

This is an interesting thing to consider for the city. I think that a touristy thing like this will draw all those idiots that want a more manufactured city experience, and there are some great views to be found in the area.

However, I'm a little wary of just building a landmark tower with a cingular purpose of looking nice. I've always thought of Philadelphia as a very practical, genuine city that shouldn't need to embark on a somewhat frivolous project like this. If an observation deck would be a draw, I would much more like to see it on an office tower, like in New York, despite the problems it would cause.

However, if it would bring in tourists and raise the city profile a bit, I can't say it would be a bad thing.

I'm in favor of a large ferris wheel on Penn's Landing, if that ever gets into motion. I think it's a good spot for something like that. The London Eye is extremely popular, but then again, that's in London, on the Thames, not on the Delaware River, across from Camden.

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I have no problem with the idea of a modern landmark structure - it's just a question of how you fit it into the fabric of contemporary Philadelphia. I wouldn't want to see it in the historic district, for instance.

When we were looking at what to do with Franklin Square, a number of us fell in love with the idea of a giant ferris wheel (ala London, Paris, etc.). The modern wheels are really part ride, part tourist experience, part photo platform. We could do worse.

But maybe we just need to do a better job or marketing the "top of city hall." Most of the folks I know have never been up - despite the fact that it's one of the great view platforms anywhere.

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“Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody.” - Jane Jacobs

I tried to go up there with some friends from out of town not too long ago and we were told we needed reservations, and that it takes about a week to get an appt. That may be a big reason why people don't go.

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Is this a news report or a trailer for a motion picture?

That's surprising. I've never had any trouble.

You don't have to take the whole City Hall tour (which is worthwhile, by the way). You can just go up and wait for the elevator. I always check in with the tour office.

Come to think of it, there have been days when it was too crowded and I had to wait for some of the folks to clear out. But, I am surprised (and pleased) to hear that it is more crowded now.

But, as part of the austerity kick, I think Mayor Street has basically defunded Greta and her tour and didn't sponsor the big fundraising party that used to happen in City Hall in May to fund the City Hall Tour operation.

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“Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody.” - Jane Jacobs