William Penn, Bronze sculpture on City Hall tower, Philadelphia, US.
William Penn is a bronze figure standing atop City Hall tower in Philadelphia, USA, showing the founder of Pennsylvania holding a document in one hand. The figure measures 36 feet (11 meters) in height and weighs 53,000 pounds (24 tons), making it one of the largest bronze statues of its era.
Alexander Milne Calder worked on this sculpture for six years, completing it between 1886 and 1892. The statue was considered the largest bronze figure of the nineteenth century at the time and remains a landmark of American sculpture from that period.
The figure shows the city founder with his gaze lifted toward the site where he signed a treaty with the Lenape people. Many residents view the statue as a guardian of the city and speak of it as a landmark that has watched over the streets for more than a century.
City Hall sits in the center of downtown, so the sculpture is visible from many surrounding streets. The best place to view it is from John F Kennedy Boulevard, where you can see the entire tower top without obstruction.
Until 1985, an unwritten rule prevented any building from rising higher than the hat on this figure, shaping the skyline for decades. After that, a new era of high-rise construction began that changed the cityscape completely.
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