Philadelphia Architecture: A Guide to the City

by John Andrew Gallery (Editor)

Book by

Genres: Architecture

188 pages, Paperback

First published December 30, 1994

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not sure I should really count this as "read," as I've hardly done a linear read, but I've spent a good bit of time with it and am impressed. This covers everything from Elfreth's Alley to the new Temple library which isn't even built yet. As an architectural guide, it doesn't go through every little charming house, just because they're 19th c.; it highlights variety instead. A good third of the listings are devoted to structures built in my lifetime. Each building gets a little info panel and blurb which answers basic questions like "what is this? what was it? why is it like that?" I'm looking forward to trying some of the walking tours when the temperature gets below 95, maybe in October or so...

[Sheena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Philadelphia is a terribly under-rated city. This little book provides a great snapshot of some of the most interesting architectural jewels found throughout the area. It is by no means the most extensive collection of buildings nor the most comprehensive. It does, however, provide a terrific overview and interesting tidbits of some of the city's great edifices. I like the way the book is organized chronologically and even gives a brief bio of some of the most influential Philadelphia architects. I hope in the next edition they will include more neighborhoods to their tours. How can you not have a walking tour that includes Rittenhouse?

[Jobiska (Cindy)]

Mine's a different edition, but still useful if you are a resident and curious about some of the older buildings. Alas, it predates all of the current (taller than Billy Penn) skyscrapers, my son's main love!

[Eli]

I own an earlier edition of this book published by the Foundation for Architecture in 1984.