Landmarks — Artificial:
    Tall Buildings
A   Liberty One and Two are of the most prominent landmarks in all Philly. Both are gun-blue mirrored glass. One was built first, stands 65 Stories - 945 feet, and is more ornate. It also has a radio tower spire. It is situated at: 17th & Market Streets. It is to the north and west of Liberty Two.
B   Liberty Two is 60 Stories 900 feet and situated at the corner of South 16th Street & Chestnut, south and east of Liberty One. If One is to the left of Two, then you are south or west of them. If One is to the right of Two, you are east or north of them.
C   City Hall is dead-center of Center City. It is most distinguishable by the 9 story observatory, a tower with 4 clocks, that rises up far above the surrounding building It is capped by a 34’ tall statue of a man facing northeast – William Penn, Jr. It was once the tallest building in the world. It was the tallest building in Philly until 1986 when Liberty One was erected. The observatory is visible from most anywhere along Broad street, North or South. It is also highly visible from Benjamin Franklin Parkway. The building takes up nearly the entire block. It has an inner courtyard which closes at 6:00PM daily. From within the courtyard signs over each of the four arches indicate the streets you are looking down: North & South Broad Street, East and West Market Street.
   
North. You are on the north side of the building if, looking away from City Hall, due north, you see the pop art sculptures across the street (over-sized game pieces coated with bright machine paint). Looking to the northwest you see an avenue running diagonally; This is the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
   
From North of City Hall, Looking south toward the building, the observatory rises out of the north face of the building. By the sidewalk are two Civil War memorial sculptures of officers on horseback. It is by far the most ornate face of the building. The breezeway is flanked by pink marble columns.
   
East. Looking away from City Hall, Lord & Taylor is across the street of the southeast corner of Center Square. The Weidner building is visible south from the east side of City Hall. Look up and to the right of the Weidner and you see the PNB bell tower. The arch is flanked by Broad Street line subway stairs. (Both Broad and Market subway lines are accessible from them.)
   
Looking toward City Hall, you are at the east side if you see a statue of John Wannamaker on the sidewalk. You will not see the Observatory.
   
South. There are no distinguished landmarks looking away from City Hall in this direction.
From south of it, looking north, facing the Building you will see “Justice” inscribed over the archway.
   
West. You are on the west side of City Hall if, looking away from it, you see the giant clothes pin across 15th Street on the southwest corner of Market Street and a circular hole in the ground at its base, which is the15th Street SEPTA station entrance. There is a similar hole toward the Northwest side, only with an ugly Cubist metal sculpture at its center. On a clear day you can see 30th Street Station at the end of J.F.K. Boulevard from the Northwest corner.
F acing: Currently, there is scaffolding on the west face of City Hall.
D   Mellon Bank Center 54 stories. Capped by a pyramid. 18th & Market.
    Philadelphia Inquirer Building – sometimes confused with City Hall, situated north of City Hall between N.15th Street & N. Broad Street and Hamilton & Callowhill Streets. It has 4 clocks on its tower as well. It has over a million stories. There is no statue atop it.
E   PSFS (Philadelphia Saving Fund Society) 38 story brown and black two-tone tower east of City Hall. Distinguishing feature is the 2-sided large neon sign atop with “PSFS” facing the rivers, along with a 250’ radio tower. Situated on South 12th & Market Streets.
    Society Hill Towers (of which there are 3) on the east side of Philly, in Society Hill, between 2nd and Front Streets, Walnut and Spruce Streets. Visible, for more than a mile, looking down 2nd Street. Each of the three are 31 stories. They are residential.
    PECO (Philadelphia Energy Company) 25 story black glass tower with crawling digital marquee that wraps around the top seven floors – highly visible at night. The building’s location is Market Street, on the east bank of the Schuylkill.
    PMA (Philadelphia Museum of Art) Looks like the Parthenon. Not to be confused with the Philadelphia Free Library overlooking Logan ‘Square’. Visible from NW corner of City Hall – over a mile away.
F   ARAMARK Originally named One Reading Center. 32 stories tall. Distinguishing feature: huge 2-sided sign atop facing the rivers with name on top visible day and night for miles.
G   Bell Atlantic Tower Now the Verizon Tower 52 Stories, Brown, has a flat, narrow appearance of gradated slabs. North 18th & Arch Street.
H   Bourse Between 4th & 5th Streets and Market and Chestnut Streets. Main Entrance on 4th, rear on 5th.
I   PNB (Philadelphia National Bank) 52 stories on Chestnut and South Broad. Distinguishable by the large “PNB” on top of a belfry. The sign is four-sided. It is the knolling of these bells you hear upon the hour.
    ComCast Center not pictured. As of 2007 The ComCast tower has taken the title of tallest building in Philadelphia at 975 feet - 57 stories. situated between Arch Street, 17th Street, 18th Street and John F. Kennedy Boulevard. Visible from – over 3 miles away.
    Bridges
Benjamin Franklin Bridge is powder blue by day and lined with red/blue lights at night that change. They are red/green around the winter holidays. It spans the Delaware River from I-676 in Center City to the Admiral Wilson Parkway (Rt.30) in Camden, N.J.
    Major Roads in and outside Center City
    state road 611 sign Broad Street crosses I-76 and then intersects I-95 at its southern most, crosses US-1 in the north.
    state road 452 sign Route 3 sign Market Street spans the entire city from east - the Deleware River to just west of the city - Milbourne. Route 3 runs east-west and coincides with portions of Market Street.
    US 30 road signUS 30 road sign coincides with I-676 in Center City and is called Lincoln Highway, elsewhere.
    US 1 road sign Enters the city at the western most tip of West Philly, runs along the entire north border of West Philly, conjoins with I-76 for less than a mile, cuts across Fairmount Park (over the Schuylkill), North Philly, (crosses North Broad Street) and Northeast Philly. AKA John H. Ware III Memorial Highway, Roosevelt Expressway, Roosevelt Boulevard, Martin Luther King Jr. Expressway.
J   I-95 road sign follows the west bank of the Delaware on the east side of Center City. In Center City it runs between Delaware Ave.- Christopher Columbus Blvd. and Front Street. Also named Vietnam Veterans Memorial Highway.
    I-76 road sign follows the west bank of the Schuylkill in West Philly. It crosses the Schuylkill into South Philly and cuts across, east, to the Walt Whitman Bridge. It is also called the Schuylkill Expressway.
    I-276 road sign (Pennsylvania Turnpike) touches the northern most tip of Northeast Philly. Although it runs north-south in portions, it spans the state east-west.
    I-676 road sign County road 30County road 30 676/30 join I-95 and I-76 along Vine Street. It has two branches toward the east: one joins the Ben Franklin Bridge, the other I-95. It is also called the Vine Street Expressway and Route 30. Route 30 extends through New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
   

For more detailed info: http://philadelphia.pahighways.com/
Another good link is: http://www.aaroadtrips.com/philadelphia.html
and also: http://www.phillyroads.com/roads/expwy_PA/
    Parks
    The city's original plan had 5 squares, one in each quadrant, one in the center. Two have survived intact: Rittenhouse Square, and Washington Square. Franklin Square and Logan Squares have been turned into a traffic circles. Center Square, now Penn Square, is occupied by City Hall.
    Fairmount Park is said to be the largest of any urban park in the world. 8900 acres and over 100miles of paths. Well, it is a park system. It is long and narrow. It runs in a diagonal direction – NW-SE . It is home to a zoo, a water works, boat house row, a Japanese house and garden, butterfly garden, mansions and the Schuylkill. Pronounced Skoo·Kill. Kill is Old Dutch for creek. Schuyl means hidden or secluded. My experience of the park is that it is unkempt. Pedestrian paths are in advanced state of decay, over grown by weeds and trees, while parking lots and roads are in considerably better shape.
    Although outside of Center City, another rather large park in the northeastern part of the city is Pennypack Park. You do not hear it mentioned often. Much of it is unpatrolled and considered dangerous. Another such park is Overbrook Park located on the western border of the city. It is primarily a municipal golf course.
   

There are a number of National Parks which, in the urban setting, are scarcely distinguishable from the historic parts of the city.
There are also numerous community parks and village greens dotted throughout the city.

     Landmarks— Natural
K   Center City is flanked by two bodies of water: To the east, the Delaware River
   

to the west, the Schuylkill.

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