Atlantic Wharf (née Russia Wharf) | Atlantic Ave | Waterfront

Re: Russia Wharf

The Comcast Tower is one of the better towers built in the US in recent years. God it would look great here. How could any NIMBY be opposed to a tower as nice as that?
 
Re: Russia Wharf

I do like that. The corners are, for lack of better words, indented, right? It's not just my eyes?
 
Re: Russia Wharf

this rendering gives u a good idea of the building's "indents"

rendering050404.jpg
 
Re: Russia Wharf

Haha, thanks. It's very handsome.
 
Re: Russia Wharf

^^ I honestly don't see why people like the Comcast Center. Yawn...
 
Re: Russia Wharf

I agree with Beton. It's as boring as the city it springs from.
 
Re: Russia Wharf

Comcast Center = Background building = sleek enough but not stellar (or fun)

Philly = NOT boring.

Think czsz needs a beer and cheesesteak tour for starters cuz something you been ingesting lately juss ain't wo'kin' fo ya. ;)
 
Re: Russia Wharf

It really doesn't take that long to eat a cheesesteak, even if you visit all two famous stands.

The last time I visited Philly, I wound up staying about seven hours before growing weary and returning to New York for dinner - and that included tours of all of Society Hill, South Street, Washington Square West, Rittenhouse, University City and the art museum. The whole thing just feels very provincial and blah compared to even DC or here.
 
Re: Russia Wharf

A difference of two opinions. That's all. I personally don't see Philly as boring. A larger version of Boston not density wise though.
 
Re: Russia Wharf

I like the Comcast Center but it reminds me of a glass take on the Transamerica Pyramid with a severed tip.

I also enjoy Philly. It is sandwiched between some more interesting cities in New York and Washington, but It has no shortage of fun to offer.
 
Re: Russia Wharf

The Comcast Center has really nice glass, but I find the massing to be incredibly boring, and worse yet is that from the north and south it essentially adds a big, blunt box shape to a skyline that otherwise has its party hats on (a real rarity in today's day and age). It reminds me of what One Chase Manhattan Plaza did to Lower Manhattan's skyline in the late fifties.

Similar to Comcast but so much more dynamic is Atlanta's Symphony Tower, completed a few years ago. Its architects do simple glass boxes better than just about anyone.
 
Re: Russia Wharf

I wouldn't call the symphony tower a box. It has a decorative and curve top. What makes the comcast tower look good is how it slants, making the sides look much slimmer than it is.
 
Re: Russia Wharf

Come now czsz, Philly’s not boring at all. Maybe you didn’t know where to go. Here are some ideas for next time you’re around:

The Philadelphia Museum of Art (which is currently undergoing an expansion designed by Frank Gehry) on the top of the Ben Franklin Parkway and at the entrance of Fairmont Park (largest park within city limits in the US) is amazing. Also on the parkway is the Rodin museum, Franklin Institute, Academy of Natural Science, Basilaca of St. Peter and Paul, Moore College of Art and Design, Swann Fountain in Logan Circle, the Central Library (has a great collection of rare books), the water works museum and soon the Barnes museum with the largest collection of Impressionist art.

There are amazing murals, statues, parks and fountains scattered throughout the city and on Broad Street there is the Academy of Music, Kimmel Center, Merriam Theatre, Suzanne Roberts Theatre, Academy of Fine Arts (building designed by Frank Furness), Wilma Theatre. There is Independence Park, the largest historic park in the US, which includes the Betsy Ross house, Constitution Center, Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, National Jewish museum, Atwater Ken museum, Elfreth’s Alley, Christ Church and burial grounds, Edgar Allen Poe house, Walnut Street Theatre and tons of other historic spots that are too numerous to list.

The food in Philadelphia is world renowned and includes a huge number of BYOBs (there’s nothing quite like grabbing a cheap bottle of wine and liquor and bringing it to your favorite restaurant) and there are pubs and bars everywhere. For music venues we have Trocadero Theatre, the Electric Factory, the TLA, World Caf? Live, and tons of smaller venues scattered about. There is a ton of architecture (PSFS building, City Hall, Wanamaker Building, Old City Hall, Mercantile Exchange, the Bourse, 30th street station, UPenn’s campus, etc.), great places to shop (Rittenhouse Row, Antique Row, Jeweler’s Row, Old City, South Street, Reading Terminal Market, Italian Market) and great people watching spots like Rittenhouse Square. Philly might have a problem with violence and poverty and may be in need of a little TLC in some areas (especially the waterfront), but like Boston it’s a very classy city all the same with a ton of history, culture and fun things to do throughout the year.

Aside from that, Comcast Center might not be mind blowing, but it’s definitely a nice addition to the skyline. The planned South Station Tower in Boston kind of reminds me of it.
 
Re: Russia Wharf

I mean, fine, I can see how one could live comfortably in Philadelphia - BYOBs when one is hungry, second-rate theatre when one doesn't feel like making the hourlong bus journey to New York, a couple squares and interesting shopping streets. I even like the museum, which is almost on par with the MFA. But I saw all the historic stuff by the time I was 13, and I no longer think the rest of the city is worth wasting a weekend.

Plus something about it feels hollowed out in the same way that, say, Cleveland does.
 
Re: Russia Wharf

today starting to rise above the old portion
004-6.jpg
 
Re: Russia Wharf

Not bad; looks like a floor a day. I wonder how long it'll take to attach the steel to the existing facade.
 
Re: Russia Wharf

It's nice to see this baby rising as it approaches its soaring 400 ft. Wasn't there a recent redesign to the tower? I think there was news of it, but it the redesign was never revealed (at least here).
 
Re: Russia Wharf

^^ This is the latest. I miss the V-braces at the tower's base.
 

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