Posts Tagged ‘buildings’

Photo of the Day: Philadelphia City Hall

| by Jason | 4 Comments » | Photo of the Day

Philadelphia City Hall is the seat of government for the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  At 167 m (548 ft), including the statue, it is the world’s second-tallest masonry building, only 1.6 feet (0.49 m) shorter than Mole Antonelliana in Turin.  The weight of the building is borne by granite and brick walls up to 22 feet (6.7 m) thick, rather than steel; the principal exterior materials are limestone, granite, and marble.

It was the tallest habitable building (although surpassed by monuments) in the world from 1901 to 1908 and the tallest in Pennsylvania until 1932 when surpassed by the Gulf Tower.  It remained the tallest building in Philadelphia until the construction of One Liberty Place (1984–1987) broke the informal “gentlemen’s agreement” that limited the height of tall buildings in the city; it currently is the 15th-tallest building in Pennsylvania.

With close to 700 rooms, City Hall is the largest municipal building in the United States and one of the largest in the World.  The building houses three branches of government, the Executive (Mayor’s Office), the Legislative (City Council), and the Judicial Branch’s Civil Courts (Court of Common Pleas).

The building is topped by an 11.3-m (37 ft), 27-ton bronze statue of city founder William Penn, one of 250 sculptures created by Alexander Milne Calder that adorn the building inside and out. The statue is the tallest atop any building in the world.- Wikipedia

American History

Philadelphia City Hall

Photo of the Day: Plaza de Toros in Madrid

| by Jason | 1 Comment » | Photo of the Day

Throughout Spain bull fighting is still practiced today with just as much prestige as there was hundreds of years ago.   Madrid has one of the most famous arenas, Plaza de Toros.  The day Aracely and I visited the arena, a matador was gorged in the thigh 15 centimeters deep, just missing his main artery.  We still have the newspaper clipping from the day after the event.

Bull Fighting Arena

Plaza De Toros in Madrid, Spain

Photo of the Day: Spanish Colonial Building in Quito

| by Jason | No Comments » | Photo of the Day

Throughout much of Central and South America you will find the Spanish conquistador influence in architecture of major cities.  In the capital city of Quito, Ecuador buildings in the Historic Center or El Centro are distinctively Spanish colonial by design.  This particular building stood out with it’s bright colors, balconies and detail trim.

Top List of Things To Do in Quito, Ecuador

Spanish Architecture

Spanish Colonial Building in Quito, Ecuador

Photo Of The Day: Impressive Cathedral Entrance In Ecuador

| by Aracely | No Comments » | Photo of the Day

This is the entrance to the New Cathedral in Cuenca, a small colonial city in southern Ecuador.

Architecture in Ecuador

The Impressive Entrance Of The New Cathedral In Cuenca, Ecuador

Photo of the Day: Hotel Plaza Grande of Quito

| by Aracely | No Comments » | Photo of the Day

This building is the Hotel Plaza Grande located on Plaza de la Independencia of Quito’s Historic Center. According to UNESCO, Quito has the largest, best-preserved, and least-altered historic center (320 hectares) in Latin America, despite several earthquakes. It was the first city that was inscribed onto the UNESCO World Heritage List, in 1978.

Top List of Things To Do in Quito, Ecuador

Plaza de La Independencia

Quito Architecture

Photo of the Day: Impresssive Architecture In Lima Peru

| by Aracely | 6 Comments » | Photo of the Day

The Archbishop’s Palace of Lima, the capital of Peru, is the residence of the Archbishop of Lima, and the administrative headquarters of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lima. It is located on the Plaza Mayor of Lima, in the Historic Center of Lima. ~Wikipedia

The palace was designed by the Polish Peruvian architect Ricardo de Jaxa Malachowski. Jason really enjoys architecture and was truly impressed with this building.

Architecture in Lima

Archbishop Palace In The Historic Center of Lima, Peru

Photo of the Day: El Casco Viejo in Panama City Panama

| by Aracely | No Comments » | Photo of the Day

The neighborhood of Casco Viejo is currently under revitalization. In this photos you can see the contrast between a remodeled building and an old one. The building on the left is where, according to our free public tour guide, Manuel Antonio Noriega (former general and military dictator) was caught by US troops. The entire neighborhood was full of examples of beautiful revitalized buildings next to “works in progress” buildings.

We first took a walk around the neighborhood by following a map our hostel, Luna’s Castle, provided. On the map they highlight the safe areas and the off limits areas. Just as we were finishing our walk, we were approached by a young man who said he was a student and a free tour guide provided by the municipality and offered us a free guide. After looking at his credentials we jumped on the opportunity to learn about the area. It was a whole new experience learning the history of each building instead of just walking around not know their significance. This was a great service provided by the City of Panama to it’s tourist and we encourage others to take advantage of it. We did tip our guide a few bucks for his services.

Neighborhood in Panama City Under Revitalization

Casco Viejo Neighborhood in Panama City Under Revitalization

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