City Hall

Went down to the exhibit our associate has the painting in...
It is in the city hall, here.
You know, mayors office and city offices kind of place.

City hall, here, seems to be in every vaguely Philly movie ever made.
Outside of dropping off that painting, I have never wandered inside. So, excuse to wander inside was acted upon.


I had to do some research on the damned place too, now that I have actually considered it at more than a tourist location and traffic obstacle.

It seems very Philly that it was built with the intention of it being the tallest building in the world, but that it took thirty years to finish the whole deal. Other buildings were taller by the time they got finished, so Philly folk made the distinction that it was the tallest habitable building for a while...

It is big, as far as city kinda buildings go. Seven hundred odd rooms, a number required with this city's famous political/bureaucratic systems I assume.

And it is old, like a hundred and ten years old. So there is that modern infrastructure layer on old building. Pipes painted to sort of match the detailed cove ceiling they hang beneath and that sort of thing. Plus the wear that one would expect in a century old office building, I guess.

There were a whole bunch of cops, too. Like a serious bunch of cops. A whole contingent at the entrance, plus one or two at every corner it seemed and at every hallway door. I guess that is a good thing? It sure didn't feel like public space, though. That kind of security made me wonder just who they think is gonna show up?


So, yeah. Field trip to the big old city hall you have probably seen in some movie. If you come visit, I will spare you the security check points and worn floors of a tour. Perhaps I will drive you past the place. You will have plenty of time to examine the architectural details as we sit the miserable traffic the building's odd location creates.

Oh, the train stops right there. We can skip the drive...
Or skip the whole damned thing.