Philadelphia Will Do

"I'd like to see Paris before I die.  Philadelphia will do."

~ Mae West

Philadelphia will definitely do for me, too, Ms. West!  Bound by the Schuykill and Delaware rivers and dotted with beautiful green squares, Philly ranks high on my list of favorite cities.

Officially called JFK Plaza but affectionately known as Love Park due to
the "Love" sculpture designed by Robert Indiana for the United States Bicentennial in 1976.

When Tim asked if I wanted to tag along with him last week on another business trip, this time to the "City of Brotherly Love," I jumped at the chance.  While he worked, I played tourist, visiting the top sites of the city.  Confined by no one's interests but my own, I wandered off the beaten trail to explore sights I had not seen before.  I'll write more about those spots in subsequent posts.

For this post, I simply want to show you why, in my opinion, Philadelphia closely trails Paris.

The Liberty Bell
inscribed with these words from Levitcus 25:10,
"Proclaim Liberty throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants thereof."

Independence Hall,
the birthplace of the United States,
where George Washington was appointed commander of the Continental Army,
the Declaration of Independence was signed, and
the Constitution of the United States was adopted.

The Assembly Room inside Independence Hall
The "Rising Sun" chair used by George Washington still sits on the dais.

Whilst the last members were signing [the Constitution], Doctor Franklin, looking towards the Presidents chair, at the back of which a rising sun happened to be painted, observed to a few members near him, that painters had found it difficult to distinguish in their art, a rising, from a setting, sun. "I have," said he, "often and often, in the course of the session, and the vicissitudes of my hopes and fears as to its issue, looked at that behind the President, without being able to tell whether it was rising or setting; but now at length, I have the happiness to know, that it is a rising, and not a setting sun."

~ Benjamin Franklin

Christ Church
is often called "The Nation's Church" for its members included
15 signers of the Declaration of Independence as well as
Benjamin Franklin, Betsy Ross, and George & Martha Washington.

Washington's Pew inside Christ Church

Pennies, tossed for good luck, lie on the gravesite of
Benjamin Franklin in Christ Church Burial Ground.

The Thirteen Star Flag, first sewn by Betsy Ross, hangs from
the second-floor window of her home.

Elfreth's Alley
is the oldest continuously occupied residential street in America, dating from 1702. 

Franklin Court is the site of Benjamin Franklin's home
and his printmaking shop.

Carpenters' Hall
This headquarters of the Carpenters' Company,
a guild founded to support carpenters and to aid their families, hosted the
First Continental Congress when it convened in September 1774.

Shown is the rear garden of the home where John Todd Jr. had his law office on the first floor and lived upstairs with his family.  After he died from yellow fever in 1793, his vivacious widow Dolley married another lawyer, James Madison, later President Madison.  

This replica of an 18th Century Garden grows between
the Todd House and Bishop White's House.

Bishop White's House gives a glimpse of how the upper classes lived during Colonial times.

Chinatown
is only one of Philly's many diverse ethnic neighborhoods.

The food shops in the Reading Terminal Market
remain long after the Reading Railroad Company no longer uses this train shed.

The Free Library of Philadelphia
My visit to the rare-book room where first editions of Dickens are currently on exhibit was a special treat.

William Penn's statue stands tall atop City Hall
in this view from Logan Square.

The Barnes Foundation
has recently moved its collection of Impressionistic paintings to the
Benjamin Franklin Parkway's museum district.

Philadelphia Museum of Fine Art

City Hall and the Philadelphia skyline
as viewed from the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Fine Art

Benjamin Franklin Parkway at dusk

Yes, Mae, if I can't travel to Paris, the City of Light, then I'll happily make do with Philadelphia!