Ch 12 & 13 - The Rocky Mountains and The Intermontane West Regions

The Rocky Mountains (pictured left) and the Intermontane West (pictured right) cover a large portion of the western United States. The Rocky Mountains contain some of the highest and most dramatic points in the US, and the Intermontane West is also home to breathtakingly beautiful landscapes. Together, these regions include the states of: Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, and parts of Montana, Washington, Oregon, Arizona, and New Mexico. 

Geographically, Philadelphia's highest elevation is just 445 feet above elevation at Chestnut Hill, this is very different from the Rocky Mountains. Skyscrapers now dominate the visual and literal space in the sky of Philly. 

Center City, Philly.
City Hall with William Penn on top surrounded by other buildings

This was not always the case, however. Before 1987, builders in Philadelphia had a gentleman's agreement that William Penn, atop City Hall, would always be the tallest man in the city. After this, however, as globalization and commerce became more prevalent, skyscrapers were quickly built and Penn's statue was far surpassed. After this, no professional sports team in Philadelphia won a championship. Skeptics in the city blamed this slump on the buildings taller than Will Penn. This belief was named "Billy's Curse" and continued to plague sports teams. 

Firefighters mounting a small statue of Will Penn

This was changed in June of 2007, when a small replica of William Penn was put on top of the Comcast Center, the tallest building in the city.  William Penn once again became the tallest man in the city. 

One year and four months later, the Phillies went on to win the 2008 World Series and "Billy's Curse" was ended.

This was extremely relieving to city dwellers. So impactful in fact, that Comcast itself made several commercials celebrating the end of Billy's Curse. Here is one of them: 

 

So while Philadelphia is not as geographically diverse or beautiful as the Rocky Mountains or the Intermontane West, the city has always known who should be the highest point in the city: the founder himself, William Penn.