Philadelphia Skyline
Billy Penn, glass towers and the skyline that broke a gentlemen's agreement.
About this view
For most of the twentieth century no Philadelphia building rose above the hat of William Penn, the 37-foot bronze figure Alexander Milne Calder installed atop City Hall in 1894. His brim sits 548 feet up, and a gentlemen's agreement kept the skyline beneath it.
That agreement broke in 1987, when One Liberty Place went higher — an act locals blamed for a championship drought known as the Curse of Billy Penn. The skyline kept climbing. The Comcast Technology Center topped out in 2018 at 1,121 feet, making it the tallest building in Pennsylvania, with a miniature Penn placed at its own summit.
This live stream is best after dark, when the towers light and Center City glows. Eastern time, UTC−5: dusk falls around 4.30pm in December and past 8pm in June.
Frequently asked questions
- Where is the Philadelphia Skyline live cam located?
- The camera looks over Center City, Philadelphia, in United States. Its position is 39.953°N, 75.165°W, which you can open on our world map.
- What time is it at the Philadelphia Skyline camera?
- Center City, Philadelphia runs on UTC−4, and the live clock at the top of this page shows the current local time and whether it is day or night there. It is worth checking before you watch: this view changes completely between the middle of the night and the busiest hours of the day.
- Are there other live cams near Center City, Philadelphia?
- Yes — the closest ones are Liberty Bell, Seaside Heights Boardwalk and Wildwoods Boardwalk. They are listed under "Nearby cams" further down this page, and every camera we carry is plotted on the world map.
- Is this stream really live?
- Yes. This is a real 24/7 live feed broadcast by EarthCam, played through the official YouTube player — free, no account needed. Every stream in our catalogue is checked automatically before each update to confirm it is still live and watchable.
