Overview –

Philadelphia City Hall is a historic and monumental structure located in the heart of downtown Philadelphia. It is easily recognizable and can be seen well beyond the city limits as you approach downtown Philadelphia.  For that reason, it provides the ideal setting for many special events, especially for a joyous event, such as an engagement.  This is why the Philadelphia City Hall is a perfect engagement setting any couple!

Engagements are a precious time when a couple is beginning the journey of going from getting to know each other, to making a formal commitment to each other that hopefully will inevitably lead to a glorious conclusion when they legally and lovingly become a committed coupling.  Capturing the memory of this inaugural event is as important as is the eventual nuptials that may come to follow!  And to enhance that memory, why not choose an iconic setting such at Philadelphia’s City Hall?

A bit of history of the building itself –

Philadelphia City Hall was designed by Scottish-born architect John McArthur Jr. and Thomas Ustick Walter^[13] in the Second Empire style, and was constructed from 1871 to 1901 at a cost of $24 million, becoming tallest inhabitable building in the world until 1908, and the tallest building in Pennsylvania until 1932. The tower features a clock face on each side that is 26 ft  The clock faces are larger in diameter than those on Big Ben which measure 23 ft (^[19] City Hall’s clock was designed by Warren Johnson^[20] and built in 1898.^[21] The 1937 Philadelphia Guide noted that “shortly after the clock was installed the city inaugurated a custom which still continues. Every evening at three minutes of nine the tower lights are turned off, and then turned on again on the hour. This enables those within observation distance, though unable to see the hands, to set their timepieces.^[22] There are four bronze eagles, each weighing three tons with 12 ft (3.7 m) wingspans, perched above the tower’s four clocks.^[15

Perched at the top of the Philadelphia City Hall building is a statue of the city’s founder, William Penn. .^[1] The statue is the tallest atop any building in the world.^[1][28][29] Despite its lofty perch, the city has mandated that the statue be cleaned about every ten years to remove corrosion and reduce deterioration due to weathering, with the latest cleaning done in May 2017.^[28] Penn’s statue is hollow, and a narrow access tunnel through it leads to a 22-inch-diameter (56 cm) hatch atop the hat.^[30

Some interesting folklore is that there should never be a building erected that loomed higher than the top of the statue’s hat. However, the construction of the  One Liberty Plaza in 1986. From that point on a Philadelphia sports team failed to win a championship! This finally ended when a statue of William Penn was attached to the topmost beam of the Comcast Technology Center in 2017. A year later the Phillies won the World Series, and later the Eagles won the Super Bowl!

The history of the Philadelphia City Hall building and its folklore add to it being a unique setting for an engagement photoshoot.

Engagement

The history of engagement and engagement rings stretches back to Roman times, but develops out of the tradition of courtly love. The ritual of engagement is both symbolic and highly practical. Scholars believe that the Egyptians first started the tradition of exchanging an engagement ring. In short, it is the period of time between a marriage proposal and an actual marriage itself, though it is not dependent of an actual wedding commencing. There are roots additionally in both Judaism and various forms of Christianity including Catholicism and traditions vary. Additionally, with the advent of same-sex marriage and the emergence of the LGBTQ+ community, the intention and value of the engagement process has grown and increased in a more non-standard sense of commitment.

The intricacies and complexities of both the awesomeness of the backdrop of the Philadelphia City Hall coupled with the intimacy and intenseness of the human commitment between two individuals as part of an engagement is something that is monumental. For this reason, capturing such an exciting time in the life of two people should have the benefit of being captured on film by a very talented and artistic photographic resource.

Are you looking to capture your special engagement event by one of Philadelphia’s premier photographers.  Look no further than John Ryan of J&J Studios of Philadelphia. John Ryan is an award-winning photographer and can assist you in making a memorable event more memorable by uniquely capturing a special moment in an outstanding setting, and is available throughout the tri-state area.  Contact John to talk about your engagement by clicking here.