Civic Center Studies, project, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Perspective of promenade
Louis I. Kahn
American, born Estonia. 1901–1974
Unknown
An ink on tracing paper perspective by Louis I. Kahn proposing a civic promenade in Philadelphia, studying how terraces, pavilions, and steps could organize and monumentalize public life.
You first notice the economy of Kahn’s pen—quick, assured lines arranging a rhythmic field of square canopies and a sunken stair that lead the eye toward a distant clock tower, giving the scene a restrained, ceremonial openness.
The drawing captures Kahn’s mid‑century effort to give modern architecture a timeless civic dignity, shaping ideas about how urban public spaces can be both formally clear and monumentally expressive.
Medium
Ink on tracing paper
Dimensions
8 3/4 x 14 1/2" (22.2 x 36.8 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of the architect
Accession
414.1964
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
