Comcast Center and the William Penn figurine topping-out

The Comcast Center topped out in 2007 and opened in 2008 as one of Philadelphia's tallest office towers on John F. Kennedy Boulevard. During topping-out ceremonies, ironworkers placed a small figurine of William Penn on the final beam, a gesture tied to the local folkloric 'Curse of Billy Penn' that some residents associated with a long championship drought for the city's major sports teams. The figurine placement and the city's subsequent sports successes have been presented in popular accounts as symbolically ending the folklore, though the causal claim is a matter of local legend rather than historical proof.