Philadelphia Architecture: A Guide to the City

This guide provides over three hundred descriptions and photographs, both colour and black-and-white, of the city’s architecturally most significant buildings. Spanning over three hundred years, these great buildings characterise Philadelphia as unique among American cities, comprising, as they do, nearly every style of architecture found in the United States. Divided into four sections, Philadelphia Architecture proceeds chronologically from the founding of the city in 1682 into the early Federal period, through its industrialisation in the 19th century, and its growth as a metropolis in the 1900s, concluding with the latest buildings, erected in the 21st century. Each entry provides historical and architectural information pertinent to the structure and relates the building to its setting in the city. This compact guide also includes short biographies of the city’s renowned architects; a building chart, which catalogues the building types and dates of construction; and maps of ten walking and driving tours, which highlight important buildings and sites in Philadelphia and the surrounding region. Philadelphia Architecture, A Guide to the City is a project of the Center for Architecture, a non-profit institution founded by the Philadelphia Chapter of the American Institute of Architects.