Mick Hartley

Politics and Culture

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Broad Street and City Hall

Philadelphia ca. 1907. "Broad Street north from Locust". 

image from www.shorpy.com
[Photo: Shorpy/DPC ]

It always amazes me, in photos of US cities at this time, to see the height of these huge modern buildings, while on the streets are horse-drawn carts. It just seems incongruous – like they're from different eras.

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2 responses to “Broad Street and City Hall”

  1. Graham Avatar
    Graham

    Yes, it really demonstrates just how thrilling and futuristic the US must have seemed.

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  2. Dom Avatar
    Dom

    And the buildings weren’t as tall as they could’ve been. City law stated that no building could be higher than Billy Penn’s feet. That’s Billy Penn standing on top of City Hall.

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