I know the 250 year anniversary, celebrating the signing of the declaration of independence is quite a ways off, but it is the only excuse I can see for dumping public/private money into the construction of a world class landmark. The funding could be helped in large part by local philanthropists who want to leave their mark on Philadelphia's history. Lets do this.

The Liberty Bell, Independence Hall and the Art Museum are all great but we need to make a bold new statement letting everyone know that Philadelphia is back. The CN Communications Tower in Toronto gets 2 million visitors a year plus the best communication reception in the western hemishere. A similar project in Philadelphia would do much better, tourism wise, seeing how it has 50,000,000 people within 200 miles to draw from.

Does anyone have any thoughts on Philly finally getting a statement Landmark or have I completely lost my mind? We could really use an observation deck and skytop restaurant/lounge.

Where would you put it and any ideas on a potential design?


A few of my favorite landmarks from throughout the world

Toronto




Eiffel Tower


King Ludwigs Castle(Germany)- Snow White Castle



Seattle Space Needle



Gateway Arch

My answer - no. They need to focus on the fundamentals. Educations, streets, arts. - And saving the infrastructure they have. Let's toss in job creation as well.

These things are what will attract people.

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I guess I might be a little old fashioned, but we have striking landmarks already. Sure, they may not pierce the sky with a bold statement of power or technology, but that's not what Philadelphia is about. We have what no other city in this nation has, and that is history. No one could ever rebuild or duplicate an Independence Hall or a First Bank of the U.S.
Those cities who need striking monuments in the sky build them because they don't have what we have. Our living history will always be more important than the tallest building in the world.

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I have long thought that a landmark observation tower at Penn's Landing would be the mousetrap (word courtesy of the late Willard Rouse) that is needed there.

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All comments made by me on his board are given freely and probably worth what you paid for them.

Looking at your favorite landmarks,
I'm reminded that sometimes a cigar is not just a cigar.

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I agree with all of the above responses (including the last two).

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I don't think Philadelphia ever went anywhere. The last thing Philly needs is some waste of money project that will do nothing but attract annoying tourists (if that).

Yes Scoats , I agree with this as well. To some extent I also agree with Mel that our natural history is our landmarks and we should leave it at that. I also don't discount BGandersen's point that we have alot more important issues to worry about first.

That being said there is something about these tower decks that are a tremendous drawing point. I've been to the Space Needle,Cn Tower, Stratosphere tower and the amazing skytop, Voodoo lounge, in Las Vegas. Everyone one of them we had to wait in line at least a half hour , true they are mouse traps for tourists.

A bold skytop tower in Philadelphia would:

1. Improve tourism immensely
2. Enhance Philadelphia's skyline tremendously if done correctly
3. Lure the most stubborn of suburbanites and regional tourists into Philly, to see how vibrant Center City is becoming.
4. Add jobs
5. Elevate Philadelphia's image on a worlwide level
6. One more thing to see and do for conventioneers.


Penns Landing location? I'm not crazy about. Half of your view would be of Camden, egads. I would prefer a location where the views would be much better and would add to the skyline. Somewhere close to the new Schuylkill River Trail , you think the views are great from the rivers edge condos? Add about about 800 ft in verticality and you could probably see all the way to Valley Forge.

These mousetraps are more than self sufficient once they are built. You would need a combination of city + state funding, private donations such as the barnes just received, and a development corporations. These towers are solid investments for everyone included.

The arch certainly hasn't slowed St. Louis' decline. It's an interesting idea and may help bring in tourists, but I agree with those above that a large phallus isn't necessarily what we need here to bring us into the top tier of cities. Without going into detail, I think we should emphasize what already are our strengths while addressing our obvious deficiencies.

Physically no CC never went anywhere, but activity wise + economically wise Center City disappeared after 5 PM and on weekends for several decades. Its made a great comeback, thanks in large part to Ed Rendell, and it' getting better and better with each day.

A modern towering piece of fine art would only help imo. Thats all I was saying. I wasn't trying to discredit Philadlephia in any way.