Centre Square
Encyclopedia
Centre Square is an office complex located in Center City
, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
, United States. The complex consists of two high-rise towers: the 417 feet (127.1 m) Centre Square I and the 490 feet (149.4 m) Centre Square II. The concrete towers are the twenty-fourth and fifteenth tallest buildings in Philadelphia, respectively. Designed by Vincent Kling & Associates
in the 1960s, Centre Square opened in 1973. The complex is credited with shifting Philadelphia's downtown office district from South Broad Street
to West Market Street
. A tenant since 1975, management consulting
firm Towers Perrin
is Centre Square's largest tenant.
The complex is best known for Claes Oldenburg
's sculpture, Clothespin, located in the plaza in front of the building. A fan of contemporary art
, developer Jack Wolgin commissioned three art pieces for Philadelphia's percent for art
program. The pieces, Oldenburg's Clothespin, Jean Dubuffet
's Milord la Chamarre, and a series of banners by Alexander Calder
, were noted for helping Philadelphia gain a reputation for the promotion of public art.
neighborhood of Philadelphia. Existing structures at the site were demolished in 1969 after the city condemned the structures using eminent domain
. With the project over budget, Centre Square was redesigned just before construction was scheduled to begin. Originally intended to be two steel high rises, the redesign used concrete instead. Unlike similar projects in the city, the entire complex was constructed all at once. The US$80-million Centre Square opened in 1973 with First Pennsylvania Bank as the lead tenant. Centre Square is credited with shifting Philadelphia's downtown office district from South Broad Street
to West Market Street.
The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company
(MetLife) had an ownership stake in the complex ever since Centre Square was constructed and in 1992 became the sole owner. Wolgin sold his stake in the complex in the early 1980s, and a partnership led by Metropolitan Life of Virginia took control of the complex around 2000. In 2002 MetLife put the property up for sale, and in October of that year HRPT Properties Trust bought Centre Square for US$183.5 million plus closing costs. With the acquisition of Centre Square, HRPT Properties Trust (now called CommonWealth REIT) began an improvement and renovation
plan for the complex. Improvements included modernization of its elevator, air conditioning, and safety systems. Architectural firm Daroff Design Inc.'s plans included cleaning the structures and a redesign of parts of the atrium
and the plaza
in front of the building.
. Located just across 15th Street west of Philadelphia City Hall
, Centre Square was designed by Vincent Kling & Associates
. The complex was one of several buildings designed by Kling that surround City Hall. These buildings, including the Municipal Services Building and One Meridian Plaza
, are collectively nicknamed the "The Klingdom."
The smaller of the two towers, the thirty-two-story
east tower or Centre Square I is 417 feet (127.1 m) tall. The forty-story west tower, Centre Square II, located at the corner of Market and 16th Streets, stands 490 feet (149.4 m) tall. the two are the twenty-fourth and fifteenth tallest buildings in Philadelphia, respectively. The four-story atrium connecting the two high rises is topped by a domed skylight and the floors are connected by a triangular elevator. During renovations in 2008, a tower of changing light pipes replaced the elevator tower's marble encasement. The plaza in front of Centre Square at the corner of Market and 15th Streets has access to Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority's (SEPTA) 15th Street Station
.
. Until the company left in the mid 1980s, Arco Chemical Co., whose headquarters was in Centre Square, had a large collection of contemporary art displayed throughout the complex. Philadelphia has a percent for art
program, which requires that a percentage of construction costs be allocated for art. A fan and collector of contemporary art, developer Jack Wolgin had three pieces commissioned to fulfill the ordinance. The most famous piece is Claes Oldenburg
's 45 feet (13.7 m) Cor-Ten and stainless steel sculpture, Clothespin. Located atop the subway entrance in the plaza in front of the building, Centre Square is best known because of Clothespin and is often called the Clothespin Building. Wolgin's lawyer said the lead tenant, the First Pennsylvania Bank, had requested a conventional statue of a general on a horse, but Wolgin said, "No. You're getting a clothespin." A second sculpture was also commissioned. The steel sculpture Milord la Chamarre by Jean Dubuffet
was placed in the atrium. In the mid 1980s the interior was renovated and Milord la Chamarre was moved outside on Market Street. Also commissioned were eight banner
s by Alexander Calder
. The banners, ranging from 18 feet (5.5 m) to 28 feet (8.5 m), were hung from the atrium ceiling and had colorful sun, flower, moon and night designs. The dyed cotton and silk banners, the only banners Calder ever designed, were removed during the renovations in the 1980s and were subsequently lost. After pressure from the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority
art program to search for the banners, they were discovered in a storeroom in the early 2000s. In 2009 some of the banners were put on temporary display at the Free Library of Philadelphia
while the Redevelopment Authority works to find a place to have them displayed permanently.
Wolgin said his goal in commissioning the three pieces of art was "to provide art that would enhance Philadelphia by integrating into the daily life of those who live or work in the city the joy and inspiration derived from great art." Former head of the Redevelopment Authority art program Mary Kilroy said the art installed at Centre Square was the point when Philadelphia began to build its reputation as a great promoter of public art. In association with the Mural Arts Program
, CommonWealth REIT is installing a glass mosaic mural below the Clothespin at the underground entrance to Centre Square. Made by Miriam Singer and Emilie Ledieu, the mural is intended to represent the geographies of the people who pass through the plaza and is expected to be completed in November 2011.
firm Towers Perrin
. Towers Perrin has had offices in Centre Square since 1975 and after its lease renewal in 2004 occupies between 250000 square feet (23,225.8 m²) and 300000 square feet (27,870.9 m²) square feet in the east tower. Saul Ewing
leases 111000 square feet (10,312.2 m²) on the 36th, 37th, and 38th floors of Centre Square II. The law firm has made the building its headquarters
since shortly after the building opened. Cable company Comcast
made the Centre its headquarters from 1991 to 2007. Comcast moved into the complex after a fire seriously damaged its former headquarters at One Meridian Plaza
across the street. It left Centre Square for its new headquarters in the Comcast Center
despite attempts by HRPT Properties Trust to convince them to stay. In 1999 Lincoln National Corporation
moved from Fort Wayne, Indiana
to Centre Square. The company makes 32000 square feet (2,972.9 m²) in the west tower its headquarters despite moving 400 hundred employees, including its top management, outside of Philadelphia and into Radnor Township, Pennsylvania in 2007. Law firm Conrad O’Brien also leases space in the west tower. It leased 44000 square feet (4,087.7 m²) on the 39th and 40th floors in 2011. A restaurant called Top of Centre Square was lcoated in Centre Square II. Located on the top floor, it was the highest restaurant in the city's history and closed in 1993.
Center City, Philadelphia
Center City, or Downtown Philadelphia includes the central business district and central neighborhoods of the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. As of 2005, its population of over 88,000 made it the third most populous downtown in the United States, after New York City's and Chicago's...
, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, United States. The complex consists of two high-rise towers: the 417 feet (127.1 m) Centre Square I and the 490 feet (149.4 m) Centre Square II. The concrete towers are the twenty-fourth and fifteenth tallest buildings in Philadelphia, respectively. Designed by Vincent Kling & Associates
KlingStubbins
KlingStubbins is an architectural, engineering, interior, and planning firm based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Kling's firm was founded in 1946 by Vincent Kling, FAIA, and had grown to become the largest architecture firm in Philadelphia, and one of the largest in the world. The Stubbins Group...
in the 1960s, Centre Square opened in 1973. The complex is credited with shifting Philadelphia's downtown office district from South Broad Street
Broad Street (Philadelphia)
Broad Street is a major arterial street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and is nearly 13 miles long.It is Pennsylvania Route 611 along its entire length with the exception of its northernmost part between Old York Road and Pennsylvania Route 309 and the southernmost part south of Interstate 95...
to West Market Street
Market Street (Philadelphia)
Market Street, originally known as High Street, is a major east–west street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. For the majority of its length, it serves as Pennsylvania Route 3....
. A tenant since 1975, management consulting
Management consulting
Management consulting indicates both the industry and practice of helping organizations improve their performance primarily through the analysis of existing organizational problems and development of plans for improvement....
firm Towers Perrin
Towers Perrin
Towers Perrin was a professional services firm specialising in human resources and financial services consulting, which merged in January 2010 with Watson Wyatt to form Towers Watson...
is Centre Square's largest tenant.
The complex is best known for Claes Oldenburg
Claes Oldenburg
Claes Oldenburg is a Swedish sculptor, best known for his public art installations typically featuring very large replicas of everyday objects...
's sculpture, Clothespin, located in the plaza in front of the building. A fan of contemporary art
Contemporary art
Contemporary art can be defined variously as art produced at this present point in time or art produced since World War II. The definition of the word contemporary would support the first view, but museums of contemporary art commonly define their collections as consisting of art produced...
, developer Jack Wolgin commissioned three art pieces for Philadelphia's percent for art
Percent for Art
The term "percent for art" refers to a program, often a city ordinance, where a fee, usually some percentage of the project cost, is placed on large scale development projects in order to fund and install public art. The details of such programs vary from area-to-area...
program. The pieces, Oldenburg's Clothespin, Jean Dubuffet
Jean Dubuffet
Jean Philippe Arthur Dubuffet was a French painter and sculptor. His idealistic approach to aesthetics embraced so called "low art" and eschewed traditional standards of beauty in favor of what he believed to be a more authentic and humanistic approach to image-making.-Life and work:Dubuffet was...
's Milord la Chamarre, and a series of banners by Alexander Calder
Alexander Calder
Alexander Calder was an American sculptor and artist most famous for inventing mobile sculptures. In addition to mobile and stable sculpture, Alexander Calder also created paintings, lithographs, toys, tapestry, jewelry and household objects.-Childhood:Alexander "Sandy" Calder was born in Lawnton,...
, were noted for helping Philadelphia gain a reputation for the promotion of public art.
History
In the 1960s developer Jack Wolgin began development of a two-tower high-rise complex in the West Market StreetMarket Street (Philadelphia)
Market Street, originally known as High Street, is a major east–west street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. For the majority of its length, it serves as Pennsylvania Route 3....
neighborhood of Philadelphia. Existing structures at the site were demolished in 1969 after the city condemned the structures using eminent domain
Eminent domain
Eminent domain , compulsory purchase , resumption/compulsory acquisition , or expropriation is an action of the state to seize a citizen's private property, expropriate property, or seize a citizen's rights in property with due monetary compensation, but without the owner's consent...
. With the project over budget, Centre Square was redesigned just before construction was scheduled to begin. Originally intended to be two steel high rises, the redesign used concrete instead. Unlike similar projects in the city, the entire complex was constructed all at once. The US$80-million Centre Square opened in 1973 with First Pennsylvania Bank as the lead tenant. Centre Square is credited with shifting Philadelphia's downtown office district from South Broad Street
Broad Street (Philadelphia)
Broad Street is a major arterial street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and is nearly 13 miles long.It is Pennsylvania Route 611 along its entire length with the exception of its northernmost part between Old York Road and Pennsylvania Route 309 and the southernmost part south of Interstate 95...
to West Market Street.
The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company
MetLife, Inc. is the holding corporation for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, or MetLife, for short, and its affiliates. MetLife is among the largest global providers of insurance, annuities, and employee benefit programs, with 90 million customers in over 60 countries...
(MetLife) had an ownership stake in the complex ever since Centre Square was constructed and in 1992 became the sole owner. Wolgin sold his stake in the complex in the early 1980s, and a partnership led by Metropolitan Life of Virginia took control of the complex around 2000. In 2002 MetLife put the property up for sale, and in October of that year HRPT Properties Trust bought Centre Square for US$183.5 million plus closing costs. With the acquisition of Centre Square, HRPT Properties Trust (now called CommonWealth REIT) began an improvement and renovation
Renovation
Renovation is the process of improving a structure. Two prominent types of renovations are commercial and residential.-Process:The process of a renovation, however complex, can usually be broken down into several processes...
plan for the complex. Improvements included modernization of its elevator, air conditioning, and safety systems. Architectural firm Daroff Design Inc.'s plans included cleaning the structures and a redesign of parts of the atrium
Atrium (architecture)
In modern architecture, an atrium is a large open space, often several stories high and having a glazed roof and/or large windows, often situated within a larger multistory building and often located immediately beyond the main entrance doors...
and the plaza
Plaza
Plaza is a Spanish word related to "field" which describes an open urban public space, such as a city square. All through Spanish America, the plaza mayor of each center of administration held three closely related institutions: the cathedral, the cabildo or administrative center, which might be...
in front of the building.
Architecture
Consisting of two concrete high-rise towers connected by an atrium, the 1800000 square feet (167,225.5 m²) Centre Square is located on Market Street between 15th and 16th Streets in Center CityCenter City, Philadelphia
Center City, or Downtown Philadelphia includes the central business district and central neighborhoods of the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. As of 2005, its population of over 88,000 made it the third most populous downtown in the United States, after New York City's and Chicago's...
. Located just across 15th Street west of Philadelphia City Hall
Philadelphia City Hall
Philadelphia City Hall is the house of government for the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At , including the statue, it is the world's second-tallest masonry building, only shorter than Mole Antonelliana in Turin...
, Centre Square was designed by Vincent Kling & Associates
KlingStubbins
KlingStubbins is an architectural, engineering, interior, and planning firm based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Kling's firm was founded in 1946 by Vincent Kling, FAIA, and had grown to become the largest architecture firm in Philadelphia, and one of the largest in the world. The Stubbins Group...
. The complex was one of several buildings designed by Kling that surround City Hall. These buildings, including the Municipal Services Building and One Meridian Plaza
One Meridian Plaza
One Meridian Plaza was a 38-story high-rise office building in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The tower was designed by Vincent Kling & Associates and completed in 1972. The building was demolished in 1999 as a result of damage of a fire that began on February 23, 1991...
, are collectively nicknamed the "The Klingdom."
The smaller of the two towers, the thirty-two-story
Storey
A storey or story is any level part of a building that could be used by people...
east tower or Centre Square I is 417 feet (127.1 m) tall. The forty-story west tower, Centre Square II, located at the corner of Market and 16th Streets, stands 490 feet (149.4 m) tall. the two are the twenty-fourth and fifteenth tallest buildings in Philadelphia, respectively. The four-story atrium connecting the two high rises is topped by a domed skylight and the floors are connected by a triangular elevator. During renovations in 2008, a tower of changing light pipes replaced the elevator tower's marble encasement. The plaza in front of Centre Square at the corner of Market and 15th Streets has access to Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority's (SEPTA) 15th Street Station
15th Street (SEPTA station)
15th Street is a rapid transit station on the SEPTA Market–Frankford Line and all routes of the Subway–Surface trolley lines in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A free interchange is available between all of the rapid transit lines here, including the Broad Street Line at City Hall, which is connected...
.
Art
Centre Square has been the home to numerous works of contemporary artContemporary art
Contemporary art can be defined variously as art produced at this present point in time or art produced since World War II. The definition of the word contemporary would support the first view, but museums of contemporary art commonly define their collections as consisting of art produced...
. Until the company left in the mid 1980s, Arco Chemical Co., whose headquarters was in Centre Square, had a large collection of contemporary art displayed throughout the complex. Philadelphia has a percent for art
Percent for Art
The term "percent for art" refers to a program, often a city ordinance, where a fee, usually some percentage of the project cost, is placed on large scale development projects in order to fund and install public art. The details of such programs vary from area-to-area...
program, which requires that a percentage of construction costs be allocated for art. A fan and collector of contemporary art, developer Jack Wolgin had three pieces commissioned to fulfill the ordinance. The most famous piece is Claes Oldenburg
Claes Oldenburg
Claes Oldenburg is a Swedish sculptor, best known for his public art installations typically featuring very large replicas of everyday objects...
's 45 feet (13.7 m) Cor-Ten and stainless steel sculpture, Clothespin. Located atop the subway entrance in the plaza in front of the building, Centre Square is best known because of Clothespin and is often called the Clothespin Building. Wolgin's lawyer said the lead tenant, the First Pennsylvania Bank, had requested a conventional statue of a general on a horse, but Wolgin said, "No. You're getting a clothespin." A second sculpture was also commissioned. The steel sculpture Milord la Chamarre by Jean Dubuffet
Jean Dubuffet
Jean Philippe Arthur Dubuffet was a French painter and sculptor. His idealistic approach to aesthetics embraced so called "low art" and eschewed traditional standards of beauty in favor of what he believed to be a more authentic and humanistic approach to image-making.-Life and work:Dubuffet was...
was placed in the atrium. In the mid 1980s the interior was renovated and Milord la Chamarre was moved outside on Market Street. Also commissioned were eight banner
Banner
A banner is a flag or other piece of cloth bearing a symbol, logo, slogan or other message. Banner-making is an ancient craft.The word derives from late Latin bandum, a cloth out of which a flag is made...
s by Alexander Calder
Alexander Calder
Alexander Calder was an American sculptor and artist most famous for inventing mobile sculptures. In addition to mobile and stable sculpture, Alexander Calder also created paintings, lithographs, toys, tapestry, jewelry and household objects.-Childhood:Alexander "Sandy" Calder was born in Lawnton,...
. The banners, ranging from 18 feet (5.5 m) to 28 feet (8.5 m), were hung from the atrium ceiling and had colorful sun, flower, moon and night designs. The dyed cotton and silk banners, the only banners Calder ever designed, were removed during the renovations in the 1980s and were subsequently lost. After pressure from the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority
Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority
The Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority, with the legal name of "Redevelopment Authority of the City of Philadelphia", was created by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Urban Redevelopment Law of 1945...
art program to search for the banners, they were discovered in a storeroom in the early 2000s. In 2009 some of the banners were put on temporary display at the Free Library of Philadelphia
Free Library of Philadelphia
The Free Library of Philadelphia is the public library system serving Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.-History:History of the Free Library of Philadelphia: Initiated by the efforts of Dr...
while the Redevelopment Authority works to find a place to have them displayed permanently.
Wolgin said his goal in commissioning the three pieces of art was "to provide art that would enhance Philadelphia by integrating into the daily life of those who live or work in the city the joy and inspiration derived from great art." Former head of the Redevelopment Authority art program Mary Kilroy said the art installed at Centre Square was the point when Philadelphia began to build its reputation as a great promoter of public art. In association with the Mural Arts Program
Mural Arts Program
Philadelphia's Mural Arts Program was founded in 1984, as a sub division of the Philadelphia Anti-Graffiti Network , led by Jane Golden. Prior to the Mural Arts Program operating as its own entity its roots were founded in a meeting between Spencer and Golden in 1984 where Golden asked to run a...
, CommonWealth REIT is installing a glass mosaic mural below the Clothespin at the underground entrance to Centre Square. Made by Miriam Singer and Emilie Ledieu, the mural is intended to represent the geographies of the people who pass through the plaza and is expected to be completed in November 2011.
Tenants
The complex's largest tenant is the management consultingManagement consulting
Management consulting indicates both the industry and practice of helping organizations improve their performance primarily through the analysis of existing organizational problems and development of plans for improvement....
firm Towers Perrin
Towers Perrin
Towers Perrin was a professional services firm specialising in human resources and financial services consulting, which merged in January 2010 with Watson Wyatt to form Towers Watson...
. Towers Perrin has had offices in Centre Square since 1975 and after its lease renewal in 2004 occupies between 250000 square feet (23,225.8 m²) and 300000 square feet (27,870.9 m²) square feet in the east tower. Saul Ewing
Saul Ewing
Saul Ewing LLP is a Philadelphia-based law firm. In addition to their main headquarters Saul Ewing has eight Mid-Atlantic regional offices in Baltimore, MD, Chesterbrook, PA, Harrisburg, PA, Newark, NJ, New York, NY, Princeton, NJ, Washington, DC, and Wilmington, DE.- History :Saul Ewing's...
leases 111000 square feet (10,312.2 m²) on the 36th, 37th, and 38th floors of Centre Square II. The law firm has made the building its headquarters
Headquarters
Headquarters denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the top of a corporation taking full responsibility managing all business activities...
since shortly after the building opened. Cable company Comcast
Comcast
Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
made the Centre its headquarters from 1991 to 2007. Comcast moved into the complex after a fire seriously damaged its former headquarters at One Meridian Plaza
One Meridian Plaza
One Meridian Plaza was a 38-story high-rise office building in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The tower was designed by Vincent Kling & Associates and completed in 1972. The building was demolished in 1999 as a result of damage of a fire that began on February 23, 1991...
across the street. It left Centre Square for its new headquarters in the Comcast Center
Comcast Center (office building)
Comcast Center is a skyscraper in Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The 58-story, tower is the tallest building in Philadelphia and the fifteenth tallest building in the United States. Originally called One Pennsylvania Plaza when the building was first announced in 2001, the Comcast Center...
despite attempts by HRPT Properties Trust to convince them to stay. In 1999 Lincoln National Corporation
Lincoln National Corporation
Lincoln National Corporation is a Fortune 200 American holding company, which operates multiple insurance and investment management businesses through subsidiary companies...
moved from Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne is a city in the US state of Indiana and the county seat of Allen County. The population was 253,691 at the 2010 Census making it the 74th largest city in the United States and the second largest in Indiana...
to Centre Square. The company makes 32000 square feet (2,972.9 m²) in the west tower its headquarters despite moving 400 hundred employees, including its top management, outside of Philadelphia and into Radnor Township, Pennsylvania in 2007. Law firm Conrad O’Brien also leases space in the west tower. It leased 44000 square feet (4,087.7 m²) on the 39th and 40th floors in 2011. A restaurant called Top of Centre Square was lcoated in Centre Square II. Located on the top floor, it was the highest restaurant in the city's history and closed in 1993.