
Continuing yesterday’s story, today’s #inktober drawing is of William Penn. At the top of City Hall is a 37 foot, 27 ton bronze statue of William Penn, the founder of Philadelphia. The statue was made by Alexander Milne Calder.
The Penn Statue is the tallest statue atop any building in the world. It faces Northeast towards Penn Treaty Park in Fishtown, where Penn signed a treaty with the local Native American tribe (Lenape/Delaware).
There was a “gentleman’s agreement” that forbade any building from being taller than the brim of Penn’s hat. However, that agreement was broken in 1987, when One Liberty Place was built. This break of the agreement supposedly put a curse on all local sports teams.
Original drawing available for purchase here.