Results tagged “jfk”

Fun around town, for $10 or less:

For our parents, it was the assassination of JFK. Ask any of them and they can remember exactly what they were doing at the time they found out JFK had been killed. I never understood that until September 11, 2001. Our generation can remember it like it was yesterday. For us, that moment, frozen in time, is and will always be 9/11.

It's been a wretched, sticky summer as usual, but we've still managed to hit the pavement to see our overgrown baby mature. Within a month, the Comcast Center will have a completed glass exterior, but we'll still get to watch the development of the outdoor plaza along JFK Blvd, the atrium and entrance to Suburban Station, and best of all, the unveiling of the lighting scheme. (Don't confuse the construction lights seen so far for the final illumination.)

... but the real name is .

When we last posted an update on the construction of the Comcast Center, it was from a lofty position on the 43rd floor. This update comes from a bit more humble of a perspective - namely, the street - but displays a pretty impressive feature anyway: glass.

The installation of glass at the site is hardly breaking news, since it began in October. Not until the last month, though, has it reached a height that can hint at how stunning the finished exterior will be. The skyscraper's skin is being formed with two different types of glass. One is highly reflective, while the other is mostly transparent.

The transparent glass will provide architectural variety by responding differently to the sky and by allowing more interior light to exit the building. The enormous, well-lit atrium on the JFK Blvd side and the cutout corners are both encased with the transparent glass, as will be the square crown making up the top 100 feet. (The steel construction is now just below this final crown.) The difference between the glass types can be seen in the photo on the right.



Even though the glass has been a pleasent surprise, looking much better on site than it did in the renderings, the Comcast Center still has a feature or two that it's been waiting to show off. A few floors up in the photo above, one lone bright spot can be seen on the left side. This is actually a test of the building's LED lighting system. When completed, it will create a striking effect by illuminating the all four corners and the crown.

More photos after the jump...

I have a serious literary crush on Tony Kushner. Blame come hell or high water.

Dear Philadelphia:

To the taxi driver who took me from my office in Center City to a meeting across the Schuylkill last Friday:

Work has been going on at the site, located along 17th Street between JFK and Arch, for almost two years now. The concrete core is about the same height as the William Penn statue at the top of City Hall, making the building's impact on the skyline impossible to miss.

Try not to panic - but the dreaded pink, red and doily-clad holiday, St. Valentine's, is only a week away. If you're on the lookout for something to do other than you traditional dinner and a movie, Philly's got some less-than-ordinary Valentine themed attractions going on. (And to our single brethren, these events are also singles friendly):

Strangely, the holiday tree isn't actually at City Hall anymore - it's a block away at JFK Plaza. City officials don't want to interfere with the new lighting display of City Hall, the unveiling of which is also today at 5pm.

18th Street is closed between Arch and JFK at this hour (as well as Arch Street from 17th to 18th Streets), thanks to police activity in the area involving a suspicious package.