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The beauty of Philadelphia most certainly lies within its unique architecture. Once you start your condo search, you’ll find that many of the most coveted loft condos, for example, are housed in historical buildings that have since been renovated. With so many historical buildings in the area, Philadelphia provides buyers with a huge assortment of living arrangements from which to choose.
The architectural history of the city dates back to Colonial times, and, like Philadelphia, PA loft condominiums of today, includes a wide range of styles. Dating back to the earliest structures, homes were constructed with logs. Brick structures soon became popular around 1700. By the 18th century, the Philadelphia cityscape was largely dominated by Georgian architecture, including the famed Independence Hall.
Throughout the first decades of the 19th century, Federal architecture and Greek Revival architecture were dominant in the city. By the second half of the 19th century, Victorian architecture was the most prevalent. Construction on the Second Empire-style Philadelphia City Hall commenced in 1871. Even with the construction of steel and concrete skyscrapers in the 1910s, ‘20s and ‘30s, the 548-foot City Hall remained the tallest building in Philadelphia until 1987. At that time, One Liberty Place was constructed. The One Liberty Place Building is presently the second tallest building and skyscraper in the entire city and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, surpassed only by the Comcast Center (built in 2007). The building features 61 floors and is the 17th tallest in the nation at 945 feet tall – only two feet shorter than the Key Tower in Cleveland, Ohio.
After the One Liberty Place building was completed, a slightly smaller sister building called Two Liberty Place was built within the same complex in 1990. The third tallest skyscraper in Philadelphia and the 33rd tallest in the nation, Two Liberty Place stretches up to 58 floors. Although the building primarily consists of offices, it also includes Philadelphia Luxury Lofts and an enclosed upscale shopping mall known as The Shops at Liberty Place. The top 20 floors of the building are the location of highly desirable, recently renovated Philly loft condos. The Residences at Two Liberty Place have been constructed in ultimate style and elegance, and these beautiful Philadelphia condominiums are surely the talk of the town. As the project continues, it will give the City of Philadelphia its highest and most expensive residences to date, as well as creating the city’s tallest mixed-use building, until the completion of the proposed Bridgman’s View Tower. This proposed project will also include an array of beautiful Philadelphia, Pennsylvania lofts for sale.
Apart from Philly loft condos, for a significant portion of the city’s history, the typical Philadelphia home has been what is known as the “row house.” First introduced to the United States via Philadelphia in the early 1800s, row houses that can be found elsewhere in the nation are often referred to as “Philadelphia rows.” The row houses in Philadelphia come in a large variety – from Victorian-style homes in North Philadelphia to twin row houses in West Philadelphia. Although there are many newer homes and Philadelphia, PA loft condominiums scattered throughout the city, the majority of Philadelphia’s housing is from the early 20th century or older. Philadelphia’s Society Hill neighborhood boasts the largest concentration of 18th century architecture in the United States. It has since been rehabilitated and gentrified.
