Gotham at Christmas - a photoessay
Steve Weinik
12-11-05

City Hall is Philadelphia's largest metaphor. Once the world's tallest building, it remains the largest masonry building on the planet. While the ambition of its creators was grande, it was an architectural anachronism from the time of its birth.

We're a city of about a million and a half, but city hall is larger than the U.S. capital. The building itself serves as a monstrous obstruction, sitting right in the middle of the city's two largest streets. People have debated for more than a century whether it's beautiful or hideous. Personally, I love it. Gotham couldn't have a better capital.

This holiday season, Philly's City Hall is bathed in a sickening light. The colors themselves are bizarre – but what they bring out, is beautiful. I took these photos during an early December snow.

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Can this be real?

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Cavern

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Tower in light and snow

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Snowbeams

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Gotman City - horizontal

Gotham - vertical

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That's all.