Silly me. I once thought “City of Brotherly Love” was Philadelphia’s nickname, as “Big Apple” and “Windy City” are nicknames for New York City and Chicago. Philadelphia is actually Greek for “brotherly love,” so it’s more a translation from ancient Greek than an invented nickname.
As one of America’s oldest and biggest cities, Philly (which is a nickname) is packed with amazing architecture and history. After all, it was once the capital of the United States. And, it’s a walkable, transit-rich city that’s easy to explore without a car.
The heart of the city is the peninsula formed by the Schuylkill River and the Delaware River. Central (downtown) Philadelphia is divided into quadrants by Market Street (runs east-west) and Broad Street (runs north-south). City Hall is the geographic center, where those streets intersect. (Well technically the streets don’t intersect, because Penn Square, upon which City Hall is built, interrupts the street grid. You can walk through City Hall, however, from all four directions.)
Alas, this website holds only a tiny fraction, a teaser, of Philadelphia’s amazing architecture. I can’t wait to go back for more.
- Wikipedia: Philadelphia
- Wikipedia: List of National Historic Landmarks in Philadelphia
- Wikipedia: Architecture of Philadelphia
- Official Website: phila.gov
- Tourism Website: visitphilly.com
- Google Map
- Related: AIA Philadelphia
- Related: Preservation Alliance Self-Guided Walking Tours
- Related: Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia: Architecture
- For Your Bookshelf: Philadelphia Architecture: A Guide to the City, Fourth Edition
- For Your Bookshelf: Historic Landmarks of Philadelphia (Barra Foundation Books)
- For Your Bookshelf: Philadelphia’s City Hall (PA) (Images of America)
Philadelphia Photo Galleries
Much more to come! The table below lists all 160 current (marked ↗) and future photo galleries.
| Link | Number | Street | Name(s) | Year(s) | Architect(s) | Style(s) | Landmark |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ↗ | 700 | Arch Street | Federal Detention Center | 2000 | Ewing Cole Cherry Brott | ||
| ↗ | 718 | Arch Street | Cast Iron Building | 1887 | |||
| ↗ | 1010 | Arch Street | Winston Building | 1900 | |||
| ↗ | 1025 | Arch Street | Sky Club | ||||
| ↗ | 1320 | Arch Street | Philadelphia Elks Lodge | ||||
| ↗ | 1401 | Arch Street | One City Apartments | ||||
| ↗ | 1515 | Arch Street | Pennsylvania Bell Headquarters | ||||
| ↗ | 1600 | Arch Street | The Phoenix | ||||
| ↗ | 1631 | Arch Street | Bell Telephone Building | ||||
| ↗ | 1701 | Arch Street | The Arch | ||||
| ↗ | 1717 | Arch Street | Three Logan Square | ||||
| ↗ | 1724 | Arch Street | Arch Street Presbyterian Church | ||||
| ↗ | 1800 | Arch Street | Comcast Technology Center | ||||
| ↗ | 1900 | Arch Street | |||||
| ↗ | 2929 | Arch Street | Cira Centre | ||||
| ↗ | 1421-1425 | Arch Street | Elkins Memorial YMCA | ||||
| ↗ | 1827-1835 | Arch Street | Bell Telephone Building | ||||
| ↗ | 1700 | Benjamin Franklin Parkway | The Windsor | ||||
| ↗ | 1776 | Benjamin Franklin Parkway | The Terrace on 18th Street, Embassy Suites | ||||
| ↗ | 2151 | Benjamin Franklin Parkway | Rodin Museum | ||||
| ↗ | 2600 | Benjamin Franklin Parkway | Philadelphia Museum of Art | ||||
| ↗ | 1322 | Chancellor Street | |||||
| ↗ | 1925 | Cherry Street | Moore College of Art & Design, Philadelphia School of Design for Women | ||||
| ↗ | 200 | Chestnut Street | U.S. Custom House | ||||
| ↗ | 225 | Chestnut Street | Christian Science Reading Room | ||||
| ↗ | 229 | Chestnut Street | |||||
| ↗ | 1011 | Chestnut Street | Victory Building | ||||
| ↗ | 1208 | Chestnut Street | Hamilton and Diesinger Building, Rainbow building | ||||
| ↗ | 1229 | Chestnut Street | Adephia House Apartments, Adelphia House, The Adelphia Hotel, Hotel Bingham | ||||
| ↗ | 1338 | Chestnut Street | Griffin Center City Apartments, Avenue of the Arts Building | ||||
| ↗ | 1346 | Chestnut Street | Real Estate Trust Building, Western Saving Fund Society Building | ||||
| ↗ | 1410 | Chestnut Street | |||||
| ↗ | 1420 | Chestnut Street | Crozer Building, American Baptist Publication Society Building, Philadelphia Electrical and Technology Charter High School | ||||
| ↗ | 1424 | Chestnut Street | Jacob Reed’s Sons Building, Jacob Reed Building | ||||
| ↗ | 1441 | Chestnut Street | Element Hotel, W Hotel, Element By Westin | ||||
| ↗ | 1606 | Chestnut Street | 1890 | Albert W. Dilks | NRHP | ||
| ↗ | 1625 | Chestnut Street | The Shops at Liberty Place | ||||
| ↗ | 1700 | Chestnut Street | Pearl Apartments, Bonwit Teller | 1927 | Clarence Edmond Wunder | NRHP | |
| ↗ | 1910 | Chestnut Street | Boyd Theater | Art Deco | |||
| ↗ | 1920 | Chestnut Street | 1920 Chestnut Street Condos, Aldine Hotel | ||||
| ↗ | 2110 | Chestnut Street | Evangelical Lutheran Church, Lutheran Church of the Holy Communion | 1880 | Isaac Pursell | Richardson Romanesque | |
| ↗ | 2125 | Chestnut Street | Unitarian Church of Philadelphia | 1886 | Frank Heyling Furness, Robert Mills | Gothic | |
| ↗ | 2930 | Chestnut Street | Evo Philly at Cira Centre South | 2014 | Cesar Pelli | Postmodern | |
| ↗ | 1618-1622 | Chestnut Street | WCAU Building | 1931 | Gabriel Blum Roth, Harry Sternfeld | Art Deco | NRHP |
| ↗ | 1515 | Fairmount Avenue | Project H.O.M.E., National Casket Company | Art Deco | |||
| ↗ | 2027 | Fairmount Avenue | Eastern State Penitentiary | 1836 | John Haviland | Gothic | NRHP |
| ↗ | 2200 | Fairmount Avenue | 1895 | Italianate, Queen Anne | NRHP | ||
| ↗ | 1629-1637 | Fairmount Avenue | |||||
| ↗ | 2401-2411 | Fairmount Avenue | |||||
| ↗ | 2146 | Green Street | |||||
| ↗ | 2201 | Green Street | |||||
| ↗ | 2212 | Green Street | |||||
| ↗ | 2319 | Green Street | |||||
| ↗ | 2001 | Hamilton Street | |||||
| ↗ | 2100 | Hamilton Street | |||||
| ↗ | 1400 | John F Kennedy Boulevard | City Hall | 1901 | John McArthur Jr., Thomas U. Walter | Second Empire | NRHP |
| ↗ | 1401 | John F Kennedy Boulevard | Municipal Services Building | 1963 | Vincent Kling & Associates | Postmodern, International | |
| ↗ | 1617 | John F Kennedy Boulevard | One Penn Center | 1930 | Graham Anderson Probst & White | Art Deco | |
| ↗ | 1628 | John F Kennedy Boulevard | 8 Penn Center | 1982 | Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates | Postmodern | |
| ↗ | 1701 | John F Kennedy Boulevard | Comcast Center | 2008 | Robert AM Stern | Postmodern | |
| ↗ | 1901 | John F Kennedy Boulevard | |||||
| ↗ | 1320 | Locust Street | |||||
| ↗ | 1321 | Locust Street | |||||
| ↗ | 1322 | Locust Street | |||||
| ↗ | 1324 | Locust Street | |||||
| ↗ | 1601 | Locust Street | |||||
| ↗ | 601 | Market Street | |||||
| ↗ | 701 | Market Street | |||||
| ↗ | 801 | Market Street | |||||
| ↗ | 1319 | Market Street | Market Street National Bank, Residence Inn by Marriott | 1931 | Ritter & Shay | Art Deco | NRHP |
| ↗ | 1500 | Market Street | |||||
| ↗ | 1650 | Market Street | One Liberty Place | 1990 | Helut Jahn | Postmodern | |
| ↗ | 1700 | Market Street | |||||
| ↗ | 1735 | Market Street | |||||
| ↗ | 1901 | Market Street | |||||
| ↗ | 1919 | Market Street | |||||
| ↗ | 2101 | Market Street | |||||
| ↗ | 2121 | Market Street | |||||
| ↗ | 2400 | Market Street | |||||
| ↗ | 2970 | Market Street | |||||
| ↗ | Market Street | ||||||
| ↗ | 125 | North 10th Street | |||||
| ↗ | North 10th Street | ||||||
| ↗ | 59 | North 11th Street | |||||
| ↗ | 117 | North 15th Street | |||||
| ↗ | 718 | North 17th Street | |||||
| ↗ | 800 | North 17th Street | |||||
| ↗ | 100 | North 18th Street | |||||
| ↗ | 222 | North 20th Street | |||||
| ↗ | 125, 127 | North 20th Street | |||||
| ↗ | 129, 131 | North 20th Street | |||||
| ↗ | 608 | North 22nd Street | |||||
| ↗ | 60 | North 23rd Street | |||||
| ↗ | 57-63 | North 3rd Street | |||||
| ↗ | 201 | North 8th Street | |||||
| ↗ | 20 | North American Street | |||||
| ↗ | 29 | North Broad Street | |||||
| ↗ | 112 | North Broad Street | |||||
| ↗ | 140 | North Broad Street | |||||
| ↗ | 301 | North Broad Street | |||||
| ↗ | 317 | North Broad Street | |||||
| ↗ | 400 | North Broad Street | |||||
| ↗ | 523 | North Broad Street | |||||
| ↗ | 615 | North Broad Street | |||||
| ↗ | 667 | North Broad Street | |||||
| ↗ | 699 | North Broad Street | |||||
| ↗ | 704 | North Broad Street | |||||
| ↗ | 858 | North Broad Street | |||||
| ↗ | 222-230 | North Broad Street | |||||
| ↗ | 302-810 | North Broad Street | |||||
| ↗ | 100 | North Christopher Columbus Boulevard | |||||
| ↗ | 100 | Penn Square East | |||||
| ↗ | 1 | Penn Square West | |||||
| ↗ | 2201 | Pennsylvania Avenue | |||||
| ↗ | 2525 | Pennsylvania Avenue | |||||
| ↗ | 1300 | Pine Street | |||||
| ↗ | 1420 | Pine Street | |||||
| ↗ | 1500 | Pine Street | |||||
| ↗ | 1451-1499 | Pine Street | |||||
| ↗ | 750 | Race Street | |||||
| ↗ | 1723 | Race Street | |||||
| ↗ | 1916 | Race Street | Moore College of Art & Design, Philadelphia School of Design for Women | ||||
| ↗ | 1250 | Ridge Avenue | |||||
| ↗ | 1237-1239 | Ridge Avenue | |||||
| ↗ | 111 | South 11th Street | |||||
| ↗ | 201 | South 13th Street | |||||
| ↗ | 206 | South 13th Street | |||||
| ↗ | 50 | South 16th Street | |||||
| ↗ | 19 | South 22nd Street | |||||
| ↗ | 30 | South 22nd Street | |||||
| ↗ | 32 | South 22nd Street | |||||
| ↗ | 53 | South 22nd Street | |||||
| ↗ | 22 | South 23rd Street | |||||
| ↗ | 16 | South 2nd Street | |||||
| ↗ | 22 | South 3rd Street | |||||
| ↗ | 10 | South Broad Street | |||||
| ↗ | 140 | South Broad Street | |||||
| ↗ | 200 | South Broad Street | |||||
| ↗ | 230 | South Broad Street | |||||
| ↗ | 237 | South Broad Street | |||||
| ↗ | 240 | South Broad Street | |||||
| ↗ | 250 | South Broad Street | |||||
| ↗ | 265 | South Broad Street | |||||
| ↗ | 300 | South Broad Street | |||||
| ↗ | 440 | South Broad Street | |||||
| ↗ | 500 | South Broad Street | |||||
| ↗ | 507 | South Broad Street | |||||
| ↗ | 123-151 | South Broad Street | |||||
| ↗ | 111 | South Independence Mall East | |||||
| ↗ | 1414 | South Penn Square | |||||
| ↗ | 1325-1385 | South Penn Square | |||||
| ↗ | 1512 | Spruce Street | |||||
| ↗ | 1520 | Spruce Street | |||||
| ↗ | 1530 | Spruce Street | |||||
| ↗ | 1114 | Walnut Street | |||||
| ↗ | 1125 | Walnut Street | |||||
| ↗ | 1319 | Walnut Street | |||||
| ↗ | 2929 | Walnut Street | |||||
| ↗ | 2100 | Winter Street | Board of Public Education Building | ||||
| ↗ | 1416 | Wood Street |