The Effects that William Penn Building Has on Its Surroundings - Research Paper Example

The effects William Penn Building has on its surroundings The unanimous founder of the city of Philadelphia & the province of Pennsylvania is none other than an English man named William Penn. He was a real estate entrepreneur by profession in the era of late 17th century, when the grounds of America were considered to be the colony of English. King James II, when he was himself a duke, assigned Penn some piece of American land which was his own property, to build & to maintain as a city. Today’s Philadelphia is one of the master pieces developed by him. He himself suggested the name the Latin name of "Sylvania" for this place, which means land of woods, but King Charles of England amended it to “Pennsylvania” which means Penn’s woods, in order to pay great regards for Penn. In the honor of the founder of the city, a huge bronze statue of Penn is mounted over the top of city’s hall building, also termed as the William Penn building. Penn was not only a good state developer, but he was also one of the early voices for democracy & the union of states. He had very good relations with the colonials & he was in favor of a united states of Europe too, along with the United States of America. He proposed some principles for the Pennsylvanian government which are of great inspiration in today’s US constitution. He argued in his most writings that unity is the solution of the problems faced in that time particularly & there is no place for war & unnecessary occupation over people & places. Since his childhood he had seen many sufferings; he was a deep reader of human reaction to sufferings & epidemics & always preferred peace & harmony between people of every place & every religion. The William Penn building has been built on a public square termed by Penn as the Centre square since it is located at the middle of the city of Philadelphia. The centre square is one of the squares laid by Penn himself & planned that it would be a ten acre place for public buildings. Hence according to his wishes, the Philadelphia city hall has been built at the place. The construction started in the year 1871 & since then many changes have been made to the building with a total cost of $24 million. It covers a total area of 58,222 m² & is of 167 m height including the bronze statue of William Penn. The building was completed in the year 1901 & since then it has been one of the tallest buildings in the world. For many years, it was forbade to build any building in the surroundings which gets higher than the statue of Penn, but then the restriction was lifted. It is also the largest municipal building in the United States. It was designed by famous architect of that times John McArthur, Jr. in the second empire style of architecture. This style came from Paris during the 2nd empire in France & was adapted widely. It has a total of 700 rooms & constitutes three topologies of the government; the city mayor’s office, city council & civil courts (City Hall. 2011). Penn’s bronze statue which is mounted over the top of city hall’s building weighs 27tons (more than 53,000 pounds), but it is hollow from inside & a small stair case leads to the top most point of the building which is Penn’s hat, from where the whole view of the city of Philadelphia can be seen. The statue rises 11.3 m in height & was created by Alexander Milne Calder. It is mounted with its face towards northeast facing Penn Treaty Park where a treaty was signed between the local American tribes & William Penn. An elevator takes visitors to the observation desk at the base of statue which is around 500ft above the base of the building, so that the visitors can enjoy a vast view of the city. No doubt the building is one of its kinds in architecture, design, use of material, the choice of location where it has been built & all other factors which combine together to cast a spell on the visitors as well as the locals of the Philadelphia city (City Hall. 2011). All buildings which are to be made in the urban areas are designed in such a way so as to create an aura of self esteem & decision making which motivates the surroundings & the locals to get proud on their history & achievements. The William Penn building is also designed in order to remember the blessings of Penn on the residents of native America & particularly on the people of Philadelphia that Penn gifted them with a modern, well-made city (Lang. 1994). Penn was a great environmentalist & he particularly emphasized the hygiene & standards while developing the city. He was a tremendous urban planner as he made such patterns for the streets which prevents from fire extinguish. On the other hand, he was fully aware of the fact that too much urbanization can cause a serious danger to the environment so he developed four green squares around the central square also known as the Penn square where the public buildings are to be made & where the William Penn building is also located. Hence the surroundings of the city hall is full of green environment which reminds Penn’s foresight of building such a city which reflects both urbanization & green house friendly environment (Reid. 2007). Since Penn himself was a Quaker, every Philadelphian citizen should take great account on this matter of liberty & freedom of the issues which are directly related to one’s personality & faiths of religion. They should keep in mind that every race, religion & country is respectful, rather every human is respectful & there is no place for physical violation to get power in the world. All the disputes should be resolved peacefully & with equity. William Penn building affects with such psychology over the minds of the people of Philadelphia that violence, in any form, is wrong, immoral & against humanity & one should avoid the circumstances which can cause a situation of antagonism. One should always respect the independence & individuality of any country & should not impose a war, because war is the most disastrous thing which propels humans into a state of misery & mortification. With these views, Penn signed his famous treaty with the Native Americans because he wanted to acquire lands for his colony not through ant conquest, but through business by paying 1200 pounds to the Indians for their land. Although he had enough power to make any kind of step, rather he chose the way of peace & harmony which has been the most successful treaty between American tribes and Europeans. The town hall building is also a model of great architecture & skill, inside out overall it reflects the strong economical growth of the country & the strong consideration of the implication of rules of justice & good in the society. The white marbles which covers the building reflects the grandeur & the strong decision making power of the people of United States. They are fully aware with their history & they have come a long way to achieve this social status in the world. Nations who remember their heroes & who always remain grateful to them keep themselves alive & prosper, in every way of life. Bibliography Reid, Susan. Fitting into Your Genes: Healthy Living and Eating in Philadelphia. West Hartford, Conn.: Peconic Press, 2007. Print. Lang, Jon T. Urban Design: The American Experience. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1994. Print. Walter, Thomas U. Plan of Design for City Hall of N.w. Penn Square, [philadelphia, Pa.]. , 1837. 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