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Philadelphia City Hall & Love Park

1400 John F Kennedy Boulevard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Description

Philadelphia City Hall houses the chambers of the Philadelphia City Council, the offices of the Mayor and the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania. Completed in the late 19th century with a spire reaching 167m, the building was at the time (topped out in 1894) the tallest habitable structure in the world. It is made of granite & brick and designed in Second Empire style (aka Napoleon III style). LOVE Park (officially John F. Kennedy Plaza) is so named after the "LOVE" sculpture designed by Robert Indiana (initially placed there in 1976 as part of the US Bicentennial celebration). The square also features a large water fountain. Trivia: with almost 700 rooms, Philadelphia City Hall the largest municipal building in the United States

Access & Transport

The square is effectively the dead center of downtown Philadelphia. It is also a major public transport hub with several stations: City Hall (BSL), '15th St' (MFL), '13th St' tram station (10, 11, 13, 34, 36), 'Juniper St & Commerce St' bus stop (27, 31, 32) and several bus stops. The "Suburban Station' is located next to Love Park.

Instructions & Recommendations

There are guided tours lasting about 2h and departing from the City Hall Visitor Center Mon-Fri at 12h00 and 13h00. At the time of this review update, the cost was US$26-35/pers. Link: https://www.phlvisitorcenter.com/CityHallInteriorExterior

Meta review

The City Hall gets inconsistent online reviews: most travellers and residents do enjoy the architecture and consider a must see but the guided tours whilst interesting from an historical and anecdotal standpoint are apparently underwhelming for those who expected more time to be spent on architectural features - that the building lacks inside in any case. As for the LOVE park, it is rated as cool for those who value taking a picture of the LOVE 'sculpture' but as quite ordinary otherwise.

Environmental & Social

No environmental data for the area but there is a lot of asphalt, concrete and traffic An important part of the city's architectural heritage.

Conclusion

The Philadelphia City Hall is worth a detour but not an absolute must see; in our opinion it lacks 'depth'. As for Love Park, have a look if you are around City Hall but not worth a larger detour.

Key positive

Striking building architecture

Centrally located with excellent public transport options

Key negative

Building lacks an engaging interior design

LOVE park has nothing genuinely interesting

Suitability

No restrictions

About this Rating

TYPE

Desktop

RESEARCHED IN

Updated in October 2023

PROVIDER

Koreval

Included Items
None
Timing
Duration of visit

av. transport time:0h 15m

est. visit time:0h 45m

Sunlight based

Sunrise / early morningOk

MorningOk

Lunch timeOk

AfternoonOk

Sunset / eveningOk

Night – bef. midnightOk

Night – aft. midnightNo

Pricing
Free

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