Tacony Iron and Metal Works – Philadelphia

The various metal statues on Philadelphia City Hall by Sculptor Alexander Milne Calder were cast at the now defunct Tacony Iron and Metal Works, 6500 State Road, Philadelphia.

Alexander Milne Calder

Images of the 37 foot William Penn Statue presently on top of city hall, the head and arm etc., at Tacony Iron and Metal Works below.  Also, before assembly on the ground in city hall courtyard prior to mounting the pieces in place on top of the clock tower.

Urban legend has it that the William Penn statue faces northeast to Penn Treaty Park where Penn signed a treaty with the local Indians.

Oral history in my family with a great great uncle working both at Tacony Iron and Metal Works and as an onsite iron worker at city hall is that they ignored the architect’s plan to face the big statue south. 

They, the Iron Workers from Tacony, ignored the blueprints in favor of worker solidarity by intentionally facing the statue northeast towards its origin, birthplace of the statue, at Tacony Iron and Metal Works and their nearby homes.

Tacony Iron Works / Dodge Steel

City Hall Clock Section Assembled at Tacony Iron Works  circa 1892

Tacony Iron and Metal Works - 1892

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Colossal Statue of William Penn - 1892