G. Fred DiBona Jr. Building

Infobox Skyscraper
building_name = G. Fred DiBona, Jr. Building


caption =
location = 1901 Market Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
status = Completed
use = Office
roof = 625 ft (191 m)
floor_count = 45
groundbreaking = 1988
opening = 1990
floor_area = 761,000 ft²
architect = WZMH Architects
owner = Wells Real Estate TrustThe G. Fred DiBona Jr. Building, formerly known as the Blue Cross-Blue Shield Tower or IBX Tower, is a skyscraper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania housing the headquarters of Independence Blue Cross (the Blue Cross-Blue Shield affiliated organization in the five-county Philadelphia area). The tower was built between 1988 and 1990 and was designed by WZMH Architects, who also designed the CN Tower in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was renamed in 2005 after the company's president & CEO, who passed away from cancer.

Construction of the building consists of a steel skeleton surrounding a reinforced concrete core, similar to the construction of the new Comcast Center. The exterior is all blue glass except for granite accents at the base on the eastern and western facades and granite columns at the main entrance. It is currently the sixth tallest building in Philadelphia.

The building was originally intended to have a twin tower immediately to its west but the office space needs of the company ultimately ended plans for it. That lot has remained vacant since but recent plans call for an unrelated apartment building to occupy the site now that the lot's ownership has officially changed hands.

Alain Robert, the famous 'French Spider-Man' scaled the building to the 44th floor in 1997, two years after the backlit Blue Cross logo was added to the buildings pediment.

See also

* List of tallest buildings in Philadelphia

References

* [http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=gfreddibona,jcoronelbuilding-philadelphia-pa-usa/ Emporis - G. Fred DiBona, Jr. Building]

External links

* [http://phillyskyline.com/bldgs/ibx/ PhillySkyline.com Blue Cross Tower Site]