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ATTRACTIONS
30th Street Station
30th Street Station is the main railroad station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
It is the heart of Philadelphia's passenger rail network. The Chicago-based
architectural firm of Graham, Anderson, Probst & White designed the
structure, originally known as Pennsylvania Station, which is now listed
on the National Register of Historic Places. It was built in 1934 by the
former Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), which was headquartered in Philadelphia,
to replace Broad Street Station when the latter became too small to handle
Philadelphia's growing passenger-rail traffic. The PRR sought a location
away from Center City Philadelphia, where Broad Street Station was located,
which would allow room for a larger yard as well as multiple tracks and
platforms. It found such a place on Market Street between 29th and 30th
Streets, directly on the Schuylkill River, and built 30th Street Station
there. It is the second-most active railway station in the United States.
Betsy Ross House
Betsy Ross is best known as the legendary maker of the first American
flag, but her story is an inspirational one that goes well beyond her
association with the flag. Betsy Ross was a courageous and spirited woman
whose life was filled with hardships. She was shunned by her family and
forbidden to worship as a Quaker for marrying a man of a different faith.
She was widowed three times, and two of her seven daughters died as infants.
Faced with these adversities, Betsy managed to prevail as an industrious
businesswoman, running her own upholstery shop at a time when women were
not given the same opportunities as men. On January 1, 1752, Elizabeth
Griscom, familiarly called Betsy, was the eighth of seventeen children
born into the Quaker family of Samuel and Rebecca Griscom. Samuel, a successful
carpenter, moved his large family from their farmhouse in New Jersey to
the growing city of Philadelphia when Betsy was three years old. They
eventually settled into a large home on 4th and Arch Streets.
Philadelphia City Hall
Philadelphia City Hall is the seat of government for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
At 167 m (548 ft), including statue, it is the world's tallest masonry
building: the weight of the building is borne by stone walls 11 ft thick,
rather than steel. The building was designed by Philadelphia architect
John McArthur, and was constructed from 1871 until 1901 for a cost of
$24 million. Originally designed to be the world's tallest building, by
the time it was completed it was already surpassed by the Washington Monument
and the Eiffel Tower. The building is topped by a 11 m (37 ft) bronze
statue of William Penn, which weighs 27 tons. For much of its history,
City Hall was the tallest building in Philadelphia, thanks to a "gentlemen's
agreement". In 1987, it lost that distinction when One Liberty Place
was completed. City Hall is a National Historic Landmark.
Eastern State Penitentiary
Eastern State Penitentiary is located at the corner of Fairmount Avenue
and 22nd Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, five blocks northeast of
the Philadelphia Museum of Art. It opened in 1829. The penitentiary was
originally based on the idea of the Pennsylvania System, which encouraged
solitary confinement as a form of rehabilitation. It was opposed contemporaneously
by the New York System, which held that prisoners should be forced to
work together in silence, and could be subjected to physical punishment.
(Sing Sing prison was an examplar of the New York system). Eastern State
was viewed as a progressive reform in that it eliminated many of the excesses
of physical punishment in colonial America. Despite this, it was widely
believed (then and now) to have caused significant mental illness among
its prisoners due to its solitary confinement. The system eventually collapsed
due to overcrowding problems and the prison used a more conventional style
of incarceration until it closed in 1970. The prison was one of the largest
public-works projects of the early republic, and was a tourist destination
in the 19th century. Notable visitors included Charles Dickens and Alexis
de Tocqueville while notable inmates included Willie Sutton and Al Capone.Eastern
State is currently open as an historic site.
Elfreth's Alley
Tucked among hip art galleries, funky coffeehouses and fashionable restaurants,
many of the Alley's 33 houses were built prior to USA's birth. In that
300-plus-year, the Alley has been the home to thousands - from Franklin's
colleagues to families of four, from immigrants to esquires - reflecting
the diversity of Philadelphia itself.
Fairmount Park
Fairmount Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is one of the largest municipal
parks in the world, at over 9,100 acres (37 km²). This figure includes
all parkland within the city limits, as all 65 city parks are considered
part of Fairmount Park and overseen by the Fairmount Park Commission,
but the park proper does occupy nearly half that area, at over 4,100 acres
(17 km²) on both banks of the Schuylkill River and Wissahickon Creek.
Gloria Dei National Historic Site
Built in 1700, it is the oldest church in the state.
Italian market
The Italian Market is an area of Philadelphia featuring many
grocery shops, cafes, restaurants, cheese shops, butcher shops, etc. with
an Italian influence. It is generally considered to extend along 9th Street
from Fitzwater Street in the north to Wharton Street in the south.
LOVE Park
JFK Plaza is a plaza located in Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The design of LOVE Park turned out to perfect for skateboarding and the
plaza became internationally famous as one of the best places to skate
in the world until a 2000 skateboarding ban was enforced in 2002. The
park is nicknamed LOVE Park because of Robert Indiana's LOVE sculpture.
One Liberty Place
The One Liberty Place Building is currently the tallest building in Philadelphia
and the 16th tallest building in the United States. One Liberty Place
is 61 floors or 945ft (288m) and is only two feet shorter than Key Tower
in Cleveland, Ohio. Completed in 1987, One Liberty Place was locally famous
for being the first building to break the gentlemen's agreement which
was not to exceed the 548ft (167m) height of the William Penn statue on
Philadelphia City Hall built in 1901. Since One Liberty Place's completion
over seven other skyscrapers have been built exceeding the statue's height.
On January 3, 2005 it was announced that another, the Comcast Center,
will be completed by late 2007 at a height of 975 feet, ending One Liberty
Place's reign as Philadelphia's tallest although it will be only 57 stories.
Penn's Landing
The area today known as Penn's Landing stretches along the Delaware River
for about 10 blocks from Vine Street to South Street, and encompasses
the spot where William Penn, Philadelphia's founder, first touched ground
in his "greene country towne." After Penn's arrival, this area
quickly became the center of Philly's maritime soul and the city's dominant
commercial district. Today, however, Penn's Landing is a riverside park
and the place where Philadelphians gather in the summer to hear music
and on December 31 to usher in the New Year.
Philadelphia Zoo
The Philadelphia Zoo, located in Fairmount Park on the west bank of the
Schuylkill River in Philadelphia, is the oldest zoo in the United States.
Chartered by the state on March 21, 1859, its opening was delayed by the
Civil War until July 1, 1874. The Philadelphia Zoo is one of the premier
zoos in the world for breeding animals that often are difficult to breed
in captivity. The zoo also works with many groups around the world to
protect the natural habitates of the animals in their care.
Reading Terminal Market
It is an enclosed farmers' market found at 12th and Arch Streets in downtown
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Over 80 merchants offer fresh produce, meats,
fish, groceries, flowers, baked goods, crafts, books, clothing, and specialty
and ethnic foods. Every space in the market is rented out; three of the
vendors are decendents from original market merchants. The market is open
every day except Sunday.
Rittenhouse Square
Rittenhouse Square is one of the five original open-space parks planned
by William Penn during the late 17th Century in downtown Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania. Originally called "Southwest Square", Rittenhouse
Square is named after David Rittenhouse, a son of the first paper-maker
in Philadelphia, William Rittenhouse. David Rittenhouse was a clockmaker
and friend of the American Revolution. Today, the tree-filled park is
also lined with trendy shops, fine restaurants, luxury apartments and
hotels. Its green grasses and benches are major lunch-time destinations
for workers in Philadelphia's Center City neighborhood.
SEPTA Museum
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is a regional
quasi-public state agency that operates bus, subway and elevated rail,
commuter rail, trolley (streetcar), and until recently trackless trolley
service in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area. The city transit system
was formerly owned and operated by the Philadelphia Transportation Company
(known as the PTC) until 1968, and before that the Philadelphia Rapid
Transit Company (the PRT). The region's suburban bus and trolley lines
were operated by the Philadelphia Suburban Transportation Company (also
called the Red Arrow Lines), the Schuylkill Valley Lines, and a handful
of other smaller companies into the 1970s.
South Street
South Street is a place to see and be seen, shop for antiques, find bargains,
have a lager and lunch at a local neighborhood pub lor one of the many
South Street area restaurants or just stroll down the sidewalk and check
out the people.
Museums
Atwater-Kent Municipal Museum
The Atwater-Kent Municipal Museum (also known as the Atwater
Kent Philadelphia History Museum) was started in 1938 by A. Atwater Kent.
The museum was originally the home of the Franklin Institute, founded
by Samuel Merick. Kent (pioneering radio manufacturer), at the suggestion
of John Wanamaker, bought the building to create a museum of the history
of the city, saving the building from being dismantled and moved to Grosse
Point by Henry Ford.
Barnes Foundation
The Barnes Foundation is a museum situated in Merion Station,
one of the suburbs of Philadelphia in the United States. The Museum displays
works of several painters, including Paul Cézanne, George de Chirico,
Paul Gauguin, El Greco, Francisco Goya, Edouard Manet, Henri Matisse,
Amedeo Modigliani, Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso, Pierre-Auguste Renoir,
Maurice Utrillo, Vincent Van Gogh.
Edgar Allan Poe House
Poe lived in Philadelphia for six years from 1838-1844, and this
period was his most prolific. He was an editor and critic for two major
magazines Burton's Gentlemen's Magazine and Graham's, and he published
about 50 works (among them the classics "The Fall of the House of
Usher", "The Pit and the Pendulum", and "The Masque
of the Red Death"). Poe, his wife Virginia, and his mother-in-law
Maria rented several homes in Philadelphia, but only the last house has
survived. That Spring Garden home (where the author lived in 1843-44)
is today preserved by the National Park Service as a memorial to one of
our most influential and fascinating American authors.
Fairmount Waterworks and its interpretive center
At the Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center you and your
family can learn about watersheds and have a ton of fun doing it. Fly
a helicopter simulation from the Delaware Bay to the headwaters of the
Schuylkill River. Or visit Pollutionopolis, Americas most contaminated
and disgusting town, to see how a city can really mess up its water supply.
Fort Mifflin
Fort Mifflin is located in the southern portion of Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, USA, near the Philadelphia Airport. It is on the Delaware
River and was originally constructed to protect the city from invasion.
During the American Revolutionary War the fort was a centerpiece of the
British conquest of Philadelphia.
Franklin Institute
The Franklin Institute is the national memorial to Benjamin Franklin,
that serves to perpetuate his legacy; the museum contains many of Franklin's
personal effects. On February 5, 1824, Samuel Vaughan Merrick and William
H. Keating founded The Franklin Institute of the State of Pennsylvania
for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts. The original building is now the
Atwater-Kent Municipal Museum. In 1933 the Institute opened the science
museum that is now its main focus. The mission of The Franklin Institute
Science Museum is to stimulate interest in science, to promote public
understanding of science, and to strengthen science education. Exhibits
on display cover several subjects such as science and industry, physics,
astronomy and history. The Fels Planetarium and the Mandell Center are
also located in the museum. The museum is highly popular among children.
Liberty Bell & Independence Hall
The Liberty Bell is an American bell of great historic significance,
located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Along with the Statue of Liberty,
the Liberty Bell is perhaps the most prominent symbol of American liberty,
and probably the most prominent symbol associated with early American
history and the battle for American independence and freedom.Its most
famous ringing, on July 8, 1776, summoned citizens for the reading of
the Declaration of Independence by the Second Continental Congress. It
previously had been rung to announce the opening of the First Continental
Congress in 1774 and the Battle of Lexington and Concord in 1775.
Independence Hall, officially known as the Pennsylvania State House,
is a historic building in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Built between 1732
and 1753, it was designed in the Georgian style of architecture by Edmund
Wooley and Alexander Hamilton. It was commissioned by the Pennsylvania
colonial legislature and is located on Chestnut Street between 5th and
6th Streets. It was the principal meeting place of the Second Continental
Congress from 1775 to 1783, the site of the signing of the Declaration
of Independence on July 4th, 1776, and of the drafting and signing of
the United States Constitution in 1787. During the hot summer of 1787,
the windows were kept shut so that others could not hear the discussions
going on inside. Its belltower was the original home of the Liberty Bell.
Mütter Museum of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia
(museum of medical and pathological oddities and curiosities)
The Mütter Museum is a museum of medical oddities and antique medical
equipment/specimens located in the College of Physicians of Philadelphia.
The museum is best known for its large collection of skulls and unique
specimens, including a 5'-long human colon and a woman whose corpse was
turned into soap by natural conditions in the ground in which she was
buried. The Mütter Museum is run by the College and open to the public;
entry is by donation.
National Constitution Center
The National Constitution Center is a museum that opened in 2003
in downtown Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It focuses on the US Constitution
and the role it has played in American life. The US Constitution was composed
in Independence Hall, a historic building about a quarter mile from the
museum.
Philadelphia Museum of Art
The Philadelphia Museum of Art, located at the west end of the
Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park, was founded
in 1876 in conjunction with the Centennial Exposition of the same year
and is now among the largest and most important art museums in the United
States. Originally the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art,
its inspiration was the South Kensington Museum (now the Victoria and
Albert Museum) in London, which grew out of the Great Exhibition of 1851.
The museum opened its doors to the public on May 10, 1877. Its current
building, on which construction began in 1919, saw its first section completed
in 1928. The Philadelphia Museum of Art is particularly known for its
important collections of Pennsylvania German art, 18th century and 19th
century furniture and silver by early Philadelphia and Pennsylvania craftsmen,
and works by prominent Philadelphia artist Thomas Eakins. The museum houses
the most important Eakins collection in the world.
Rodin Museum
Largest collection of Auguste Rodin's works outside France
University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology
and Anthropology
The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archeology and Anthropology
is a small, but very high quality museum in West Philadelphia. The Museum
has archeology and anthropology collections of great breadth and depth
- from Mesoamerica to the Ancient Near East to China. The Museum's most
important collection is arguably the treasures of Ur, which Penn coexcavated
with the British Museum.
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