| One Meridian Plaza | |
|---|---|
 One Meridian Plaza in 1972 | |
  Location within Philadelphia  One Meridian Plaza (Pennsylvania)  One Meridian Plaza (the United States) | |
| General information | |
| Status | Destroyed |
| Type | Office |
| Location | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 39°57′5″N 75°9′53″W / 39.95139°N 75.16472°W |
| Construction started | 1968 |
| Completed | 1972 |
| Demolished | 1999 |
| Cost | US$40 million |
| Height | |
| Roof | 492 ft (150 m) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 38 |
| Floor area | 756,000 sq ft (70,200 m2) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Vincent Kling & Associates |
| Developer | Girard Bank Fidelity Mutual Life Insurance |
One Meridian Plaza, formerly known as the Fidelity Mutual Life Building, Three Girard Plaza and Three Mellon Bank Center, was a 38-story high-rise office building in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The 492-foot (150-meter) tower was designed by Vincent Kling & Associates and completed in 1972.
On February 23, 1991, a twelve-alarm fire began on the 22nd floor and raged out of control for nineteen hours. Philadelphia firefighters fought the blaze but struggled due to a lack of power in the skyscraper and insufficient water pressure from the building's standpipes. Three firefighters died in the fire after becoming disoriented by heavy smoke. Firefighting efforts inside the building were eventually abandoned, due to fears the structure would collapse. The fire was only brought under control once it reached the 30th floor, which was one of the few floors that had automatic sprinklers installed. Ten sprinklers held back the fire until it started burning itself out and was finally brought under control.
The blaze seriously damaged One Meridian Plaza, destroying eight floors and damaging neighboring buildings in the Center City district. An investigation of the fire, led by the Office of the Fire Marshal of the City of Philadelphia with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) national investigative response team, determined the blaze started after linseed oil–soaked rags ignited.
For eight years after the fire, One Meridian Plaza sat vacant and damaged. The building was caught in litigation between its owners and the insurance company over how much the insurers would pay the owners and how repairs or demolition would proceed. Businesses near the empty high-rise closed or moved, and the city brought the owners to court to resolve the building's fate. After lawsuits were settled, the building was declared a total loss and was demolished in 1999. The lot was later used for the Residences at the Ritz-Carlton, which was completed ten years later.