Three months ago, March 8, the guys at Madison Concrete took me up through the bowels of the concrete core that would eventually become an elevator shaft and emergency stairwell and we walked out into the open air of the 57th floor to survey the sunny, post-snow land -- and the work they'd been doing up there. Three months before that, December 13, Motioneering let me tag along with them to take sway readings from the 33rd floor on a day so foggy you couldn't see the top of Mellon Bank Center right across the street. Three months from now, the first employees of Comcast will be taping up boxes full of work supplies and getting ready to move into their new offices on their move-in date, September 21.

Those are the past and the future views. The current view finds us as special guests of the Philadelphia City Planning Commission, who is on site for a guided tour by Liberty Property Trust. Mind you we're in an enclosed, glass area prior to AC installation on the hottest day of the year -- a lazy, hazy 95° Friday, June 8th afternoon. Good thing there's a strip of window panels still open where the crane mounts used to be so as to allow some circulation in there.

It's easy to see the progress made in three months time, such as glass, electrical, elevator and hvac installation, but it's wild to pick up on things you didn't notice before, like the strips of insulation behind the spandrel glass (which gives the building its dark horizontal stripes at night when lit from the inside).

Look for the construction of the plaza fountain, the fittings of lower level offices (with carpet samples and everything), a model elevator foyer, the south and north side cutouts (which are purely design oriented, and which carve out the most amazing corner offices). Or, well, just enjoy the view.

A special Philly Skyline thanks goes out to the Planning Commission and Liberty Property Trust.


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