"Let Freedom Ring" - Philadelphia - October 2019

Philly was more of a delight than we expected.

Wm. Penn did a wonderful job of laying out the city. It’s all flat making walking everywhere possible.

We managed to find an excellent Philly cheesesteak at “Oh Brother.”

The downtown boasted a lot of wonderful architecture dating back to the mid 1700’s.  Plus, there were sculptures everywhere.

The Barnes Foundation is a gem not to be missed.  To complement it, viewing the documentary, “The Art of the Steal,” is important.  Actually, if you visit museums anywhere, the documentary is a must-see eye opener.

In Pennsylvania, a motor vehicle can make a right turn on a red light but the drivers have absolutely no respect for people in crosswalks.  We saw a woman pushing a baby stroller while holding a toddler’s hand almost get hit by a car.  They made NYC’s drivers look positively polite.

The stoplight times are extremely short at intersections and the busses talk “Making a right turn…”

We saw very few electric vehicles.  There was far less trash and dog poop about than in NYC.

However, there was a lot of construction.

The cost of housing is far less than NYC resulting in a lot of New Yorkers moving here.

A warm, welcoming sign to Philly.

“Where do all the hippies meet? South Street, South Street.” 1963 The Orlons.

Brushstroke Group Edition AP Roy Lichtenstein 1996; fabricated 2001; installed 2005.

Suburban Station is a, circa 1930, art deco office building and underground commuter rail station.

Ben welcoming George to the Masons, with the apron.

City Hall had all sorts of statuary. There was a breezeway, with lots of carvings, midway through the building into and out of a courtyard. Nicely done.

We never did descend down & use the, free for seniors, subway system. The weather was good and the streets flat.

Beef jerky selection.

The Nat'l Park Service 1975 reconstruction of the 1775 house in which Jefferson wrote the Delcaration of Independence, while attended by enslaved servant Bob Hemings.

George Washington used this Rising Sun chair for nearly three months of the Federal Convention's continuous sessions. It's the original.

The U.S. Senate chamber on the second floor of Congress Hall.

Geo. Washington's porter. The City Tavern is a late-20th century building designed, by the Park Service, to be the replica of a historic 18th-century building which stood on the site.

Many important historic events took place at The City Tavern, including Washington's first meeting Lafayette in 1777.

A tribute to Philadelphia's Irish immigrants.

Greeting a boatload of immigrants. Circa 1922 Ben Franklin Bridge in background.

Elfreth's Alley with buildings dating back to 1736.

30th Street Station.

The Franklin Institute circa 1824 & this building 1938. Looked to be wonderful but will have to wait 'til another Philly visit.

Philadelphia Museum of Art on Benjamin Franklin P'kway. Lots of things named after him hereabouts!

The “herring bone” patterned wood floor boards had a former life as the support beams for Coney Island boardwalks in NYC. The furniture is by Knoll.

Barnes sent his friend, the artist William Glackens (Glackens self-portrait here), to Paris with $100,000 & instructions to bring back paintings by the French avant-garde.

By Glackens.

By Glackens.

This was one of a pair. The level could be changed of the iron rod that ran between the two as a fireplace spit.

Tadeusz Kościuszko a Polish general. Along with Lafayette, they covered Washington's retreat from the Battle of Brandywine Creek. He was awarded American citizenship.

Clothespin by Claes Oldenburg, 1976.

There were a lot of places available for lease.

Around Rittenhouse Sq.

National Museum of American Jewish History.

Peter didn't feel the same way as George.

We had seen the documentary "RBG," so we didn't learn much new info. in this fabulous exhibit at the National Museum of American Jewish History.

Eddie Cantor, born Isidore Itzkowitz, was my paternal grandfather's first cousin.

Interesting style of scaffolding that I had never before seen.

Franklin Court, the site of the house which Franklin had built in 1763.

There were lots of sidewalk basement access.

This is what it looked like from the basement. Betsy Ross' house.

Want a "classic" or "authentic" Philly cheesesteak? Gotta go with Cheez Whiz as seen on the right, at Oh Brother..

"Your Move" by Daniel Martinez (1957 - ), Renee Petropoulis (1954 - ), Roger White (1952 - ) 1996 - Municipal Services Building Plaza.

Betsy Ross House.

Cast iron front building. Circa 1855-1857.

Seen from afar, Calder's 1894 bronze statue of Wm. Penn atop City Hall.

View from our hotel, the 1928 "Grande Dame" Warwick Hotel.

A view from our room. No one could tell us the original history of that building below. On to Gettysburg.