William Penn (Calder)

{{Short description|Sculpture by Alexander Milne Calder}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}

{{Infobox artwork

| image_file =Williampennfront.jpg

| caption = The William Penn statue in January 2007

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| image_size = 250px

| title = William Penn

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| year = {{End date and age|1894}}

| type = Bronze

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| height_imperial = 447 1/2

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| metric_unit = cm

| city = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.

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| coordinates = {{Coord|39.95281|-75.16352|type:landmark_region:US-PA|format=dms|display=inline,title}}

| owner = City of Philadelphia

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William Penn is a bronze statue of William Penn, the founder of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, by Alexander Milne Calder.{{cite web| url=http://siris-artinventories.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?&profile=all&source=~!siartinventories&uri=full=3100001~!12105~!0#focus| title=William Penn, (sculpture)| publisher=Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture| accessdate=December 30, 2011}}

It is located atop the Philadelphia City Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was installed in 1894. It was cast in fourteen sections, and took almost two years to finish.

For almost 90 years, an unwritten gentlemen's agreement forbade any building in the city from rising above the hat on the Penn statue. This agreement ended in 1985, when final approval was given to the Liberty Place complex. Its centerpieces are two skyscrapers, One Liberty Place and Two Liberty Place, which rose well above the height of Penn's hat.{{citation needed|date=June 2023}}

The statue is facing northeast towards Penn Treaty Park. The decision was made by the city's Public Buildings Commission over the objections of Calder who wanted it facing south to take advantage of the southern exposure.[https://www.poconorecord.com/story/opinion/columns/2018/08/18/why-penn-s-statue-atop/11017666007/ Gambardello, Joseph A. "Why Penn's statue atop Philly's City Hall looks northeast," The Philadelphia Inquirer, Saturday, August 18, 2018.] Retrieved February 9, 2025.

A copy of the statue stands at Welcome Park.{{Cite web |title=Historic Philadelphia Tour: Welcome Park |url=https://www.ushistory.org/tour/welcome-park.htm |access-date=2024-01-08 |website=www.ushistory.org}} In 2024, the National Park Service proposed renovation of the park, which would include removal of the statue there.{{Cite web |last=Kummer |first=Frank |date=2024-01-08 |title=William Penn statue may be permanently removed from Welcome Park, angering some |url=https://www.inquirer.com/news/william-penn-statue-philadelphia-welcome-park-removal-20240108.html |access-date=2024-01-08 |website=Philadelphia Inquirer |language=en}}