09/06/2026
Philadelphia-Hope. One of the most remarkable features of City Hall is its many sculptures. The building has over 250 relief and freestanding sculptures, all created by Alexander Milne Calder. The sculptures represent a wide range of topics, historical, allegorical, mythological, people and animals, and figures that symbolize wisdom and attributes, virtues, and vices. The bronze statue of William Penn which sits on the dome of the building stands thirty-seven feet tall, and weighs twenty-seven tons. His five-foot long hand is pointing northeast towards Penn Treaty Park, where William Penn made a treaty of friendship with the Native Americans in 1682. The hand appears to be making a humble gesture of blessing and welcome. The bronze statue has magnificent details - decorated buttons and lace cuffs. The Charter of Pennsylvania from King Charles II which he carries, has legible words written on it. The Charter is resting on a tree stump which symbolizes the first tree cut from his “Greene Country Towne.”
This is one of the many sculptures gracing the outside of the building. It is on the West side of City Hall, overlooking Dilworth Plaza. , , , , , , , ,
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