We were still about 20 minutes away from downtown Philadelphia, so we left our peaceful spot in Manayunk, the nice neighborhood in Philly.
We arrived first at the Wagner Free Institute of Science. Founded in 1855, it's a rare surviving example of a Victorian-era scientific society, with a natural history museum, research center, library, and educational facilities. But alas, this part of town had very, very narrow streets, and we drove down an already slim, cobblestone avenue that had vehicles parked on both sides, giving us mere centimeters of clearance on either side to drive down! Since there was nowhere to park, we had to scrap our plans to visit the Institute, continuing on instead to Lemon Hill Park, where we found free, unmetered parking to leave our RV so we could explore the city on e-bike.
We passed the Fairmount Water Works first before arriving at the Philadelphia Art Museum, which is famous for the "Rocky Steps", a flight of steps that the actor Sylvester Stallone ran up in the 1976 movie Rocky. At the top there's a statue of Rocky to celebrate visitors' victorious sprint up to the top, and we certainly saw folks trying to reenact that scene when we were there! The top of the steps looks down at Washington Monument across the road, which was constructed in 1897 and commemorates those who had fought together during the War of Independence, with the bronze and granite sculpture depicting George Washington on a horse, surrounded by allegorical and historical figures below him.
The Rodin Museum nearby was closed when we visited (apparently it's one of the largest collections of Rodin's works outside of Paris). There's a cool replica of one of his most famous works, The Thinker, at the front, which we'd even seen outside the Detroit Institute of Arts when we were there during the summer (fun fact: it's also in front of The Legion of Honor Museum in San Francisco, which we've seen countless times. We're sure it's featured in many other museums!).
Quoth the Raven, Never More
We arrived at the Free Library of Philadelphia, a massive, historical structure that looks similar to the Parthenon in Greece. We're not sure why the library has "free" in its description (as most libraries are free!), but it was founded in 1891, with the mission to provide "free access to all." The building is just as impressive inside as it is out, with a marble staircase leading up to the multiple levels, high ceilings, and ornate reading rooms.
Our mission? To see the Rare Book Department, which was on level 5. We first saw a special exhibit that would be available until February, called "Or Not To Be: Representations of Death in Special Collections," which explores how different cultures have depicted death through rare books, music, and art. It was fascinating, and very relevant as we then walked past the rare books on display behind locked bookshelves and glass cases (including some very old medieval manuscripts!), before arriving at Charles Dickens’s original desk and taxidermied pet raven, which was the inspiration for Edgar Allan Poe's famous novel, "The Raven."
When we walked out of the library, we were relieve to see that our e-bikes and Sheila's dog trailer were still safely locked outside, so we hopped back on our bikes and saw the Swann Memorial Fountain, an art deco fountain sculpture, which features Native American figures, frogs, turtles, and other creatures--although unfortunately, the fountain had no water! We're not sure if it's turned off for the remainder of the year, as it gets colder and eventually the city could see snow.
A Church, Temple and Department Store
We've been to countless churches, cathedrals, and other places of worship on this trip, and we added Cathedral of St Peter and Paul to our list, which has been around since 1864. It's the largest brownstone structure in the city, and the largest Catholic Church in Pennsylvania. There's a gold cross perched on the top of the building, with towering columns and religious figures adding to the exterior. The inside of the church is lovely, with various mosaics and golden iconography. Right next door is the Masonic Temple, which has been around for over 150 years, with impressive, Renaissance-inspired architecture. We didn't go inside, but there are tours available to explore the corridors, rooms, and floors in detail.
Not too far away is the Wanamaker Building, which was one of the first department stores in the country, and interestingly, was one of the first to use price tags. The building is still one of the largest in Philadelphia, but was acquired from bankruptcy in 1994, and today is mostly offices, with some retail space below. It was undergoing renovations though when we went, so we missed seeing the Wanamaker Organ somewhere inside the building, which is the largest fully functioning pipe organ in the world.
Food and Government Closures
It was about 4pm when we arrived at the Reading Terminal Market, so we weren't particularly hungry, but when we went inside we were quickly convinced that we should get some food here--there are options for everyone! It's basically a massive indoor food market, with stalls selling chocolate, sweet treats, snacks, Philly favorites like cheesesteak, and cuisines from countries around the world, including Georgia, Thailand, the Philippines, and so much more. Michael ended up trying his first Philly cheesesteak (because we're here, why not?) while Lisette was initially eager to have a Khachapuri (Georgian cheese boat), but decided in the end to skip the carb and cheese overload to have a couple of bao buns filled with tofu and shrimp. Lisette really loved the bao buns, but Michael wasn't a huge fan of the cheesesteak. We reckon it's probably a bit of an acquired taste, as it's a lot of beefsteak, cheese and hoagie roll to stomach in one sitting!
The US government shutdown was still happening when we were in Philly, so unfortunately, we learned that quite a few buildings and sights were closed. One of the most famous historical attractions in Philly is the Liberty Bell, the symbol of American independence. But the building it was in was not open, so people were lining up outside to get a glimpse of it through a narrow slot, which was a rather opaque (read: needs a clean) pane of glass! Similarly, Independence Hall, where both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States were debated and adopted by the Founding Fathers of the United States, was also closed across the road, so our only option was to see it from the outside.
A Garden, Square, Candy and More
Luckily, our next stops were open! The Dream Garden is inside the Curtis Building Lobby, and is an incredible mural made up of hundreds of thousands of glass tiles in more than 260 color tones. It's a collaboration between Maxfield Parrish, an American painter and illustrator, and glass master Louis Comfort Tiffany (the son of the founder of jeweler Tiffany & Co, he was a design director there and also best known for his work in stained glass). We'd seen the Tiffany Dome in Chicago which was also spectacular, and The Dream Garden is so unique because it looks like an impressionist painting from afar, but becomes even more intricate and amazing once you see all the mosaic tiles up close.
We rode through Washington Square, a public park, to get to Shane Confectionery, the oldest continually running candy store in the country (the oldest candy store in the US is Ye Olde Pepper Candie Company in Salem, which we recently visited--it's been around since 1806). In 1863, a wholesale candy business opened, and in 1910, a young man named Edward R. Shane bought and renovated the confectionery, turning it into a retail business. The store is already inviting from the outside, with its displays of old-fashioned and modern treats.
The lady inside was really friendly and sweet (no pun intended!), taking time to show us around the narrow shop, with its handmade chocolates, gingerbread cookies (still made from the old molds), chocolate pretzels, and other treats. Out the back it's like a bit of a museum, with a little bar for drinking hot chocolate, and some old equipment. We even got to sample a couple of chocolates, including matcha mochi balls (definitely not one of the original candies on the menu!). It's a great place to get unique gifts for friends and family, particularly given the store's rich history (also no pun intended)!
Elfreth's Alley is also teeming with history--it's one of the oldest continuously inhabited residential streets in the US, dating back to 1703. Most of the homes are privately owned residences, but #124 and #126 are the Elfreth's Alley Museum, which conducts tours of the narrow street. It was so cool to see all the red brick facades of the homes, and even see the Grand Union Flag flying in front of one home. It was the first national flag of the US before it adopted its own distinct flag, with British and American elements (the Union Jack in the top left corner, plus the red/white horizontal stripes used in the US flag today). It would be cool to live in such a historic home and street, although it could also be a lot to have tourists walking through at all times of day. We like meeting and chatting to folks, but also would appreciate some privacy at home!
We passed the Christ Church, a historic church from 1695 that also is the burial grounds of Benjamin Franklin and other signers of the Declaration of Independence, but the church seemed to be closed, so we continued on to the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, where there's a pedestrian tunnel that contains one of the city's largest murals. It took us a while to find it because we didn't know exactly where the entrance to the tunnel was, but it is down some stairs at the start of the bridge. There are some images of Philadelphia sights, although unfortunately there's a lot of rubbish and random graffiti covering some of the mural as well.
A Chilly Evening
We'd already felt the temperature drop when we were around the Liberty Bell, and start to feel the cold! So by the time we finished, the sun was setting and we knew it would be a rather chilly night. Cycling back to our RV, we arrived just after sunset. There weren't any other RVs around us, but there were kids and families wrapping up playing at the park next to us. It was a little bit noisy at times at night (we were spoiled by the quiet neighborhood we were at the previous night), but otherwise it was an uneventful evening.