See Philadelphia!
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Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love which is currently in the midst of celebrating its 300th birthday, is ablaze with attractions for the International Association of Fire Chiefs Convention.
William Penn’s “green country towne” is easily negotiated, with a compact downtown consisting of neatly squared-off blocks. The Tourist Center is at 16th St. and John F. Kennedy Blvd. Restaurants, historical areas, shopping centers and nightclubs are well scattered throughout center city.
The week of the convention will be open house at area fire departments for visiting chiefs. It will commence on Sunday with the annual Firemen’s Appreciation Day, on Delaware Ave. north of Market St. Apparatus from Philadelphia and neighboring counties of Pennsylvania and New Jersey will be on display. There will be water displays by Philadelphia Marine companies, pumping contests with hand apparatus and displays of steam fire engines. Firemanic items will be on sale, and the whole event goes on rain or shine. Fireman’s Hall, on 2nd St. at Quarry (just above Arch), has exhibits on the history of fire fighting.
Conventioneers are welcome to take the walking tour of historic Philadelphia which will pass the station of Engine 8, Ladder 2 and Battalion 4 on 4th and Arch Sts. Engine 8 can trace its lineage to the Union Fire Company of Benjamin Franklin. Downtown stations within walking distance of center city hotels are Engine 4,16th and Sansom; Engine 43 at 21st and Market; Engine 20 at 10th and Commerce; Engine 11 at 6th and South, and Marine 15 at Delaware Ave. and Race St.
Headquarters at the Fire Administration Building, 3rd and Spring Garden Sts. (see Fire Engineering, May 1977) houses the fire alarm office. The Fire Training Academy (Fire Engineering, Dec. 1981) is about 15 miles northeast of center city at State Road and Penny Packer St. and is easily reached via 1-95.
Philadelphia’s historical highlights include Independence National Historical Park on Chestnut St. between 5th and 6th Sts., where the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution were signed. Independence Hall stands as it did in 1776, but the Liberty Bell has been moved to a glass enclosure building near 5th and Market Sts. to accommodate its many visitors.
Revolutionary sights
In the nearby park area is a reconstruction of Graff House, where Thomas Jefferson drafted the first Declaration; of old City Hall, where the first Supreme Court sat; the First and Second Banks of the United States, and Carpenters Hall, where the first Continental Congress convened.
Across from Independence Hall in Washington Square is the burial ground of the Unknown Soldier of the Revolutionary War, guarded by a statue of George Washington and the flags of the 13 original colonies.
Old City Tavern, which John Adams called the “most genteel Tavern in the U.S.,” has been reconstructed by the U.S. Park Service and serves lunch and dinner daily.
Old Christ Church, where George Washington worshiped, was constructed between 1727 and 1747. Open daily, it is on 2nd St. north of Market. Franklin Court, which was once owned by Franklin, has a working print shop and the Franklin post office between 3rd and 4th Sts. on Market.
Also nearby is Elfreth’s Alley, a cobblestoned street lined by 33 houses occupied since the early 1700s. Number 126 is a museum with period furnishings. The Betsy Ross House, around the corner at 239 Arch St., is a charming restored 2 1/2-story colonial home. Ross is credited with making the first American flag there.
Historical churches
Historical churches of various denominations are located in this area. The Free Quaker Meeting House and Museum is at 5th and Arch, and the Gloria Dei (Old Swedes Church) at Delaware Ave. and Christian, dedicated in 1700, is the oldest church in Pennsylvania. St. George’s Church and Museum at 235 N. 4th St. is the mother church of American Methodism, and the oldest Methodist Church in continuous service in the world.
St. Joseph’s Church and 4th and Walnut is the oldest Roman Catholic parish in Philadelphia, founded in 1734. At St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church at 244 S. 4th St., Thomas Fitzsimons, a signer of the Constitution, and Commodore John Barry, the father of the American Navy, are buried.
In the center of the downtown area is City Hall, a monumental municipal edifice. Modeled after the Louvre in France, it was 30 years in construction, completed in 1901. It is the signature of Philadelphia’s skylinetopped by William Penn’s hat at 547 feet and by law the tallest building in the city. City Hall Tower has an observation deck where photographers can shoot alongside Penn, whose statue atop the tower is the tallest on any building in the world.
Main attractions
The Benjamin Franklin Parkway is Philadelphia’s Champs-Elysee, a broad tree-lined boulevard brightened by flags of many nations sailing in the breeze. The parkway is flanked by motels, the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul, the Free Library of Philadephia, the Franklin Institute Science Museum, the Rodin Museum, and at the top of the Parkway, up a flight of steps made famous by “Rocky,” is the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
The museum is America’s third largest art museum, with over 500,000 paintings, sculptures, prints and period rooms. There is an American wing and a new costume and textile wing.
The Rodin Museum at 22nd St. houses the largest collection of Rodin sculptures and drawings outside France, including the “Thinker.”
The Franklin Institute, at 21st St., with four floors of hands-on exhibits, allows visitors to pilot a 707, to be a ship’s captain, the engineer of a 350-ton steam locomotive, and to walk through a human heart. Another part of the Institute, Fels Planetarium, offers constellation shows and multi-media journeys through outer space.
Across Logan Circle is the Free Library of Philadelphia’s main building, housing over 6 million books.
The Academy of Natural Sciences at 18th St. displays dinosaurs, animals, gems, fish and shell collections, and presents live animal shows.
Old-time fire apparatus, early insurance documents, and the most complete collection of American fire marks ever assembled are featured at the Insurance Company of North America museum.
At the Masonic Temple across from City Hall, examples of Corinthian, Ionic, Italian Rennaisance, Egyptian, Norman, Gothic and Oriental styles of architecture are shown.
Ships ahoy!
Philadelphia is a noted seaport – the largest inland port in the country. Its riverfront is being reclaimed for industrial, recreational, and residential use.
Just south of Market St. along the waterfront, running for blocks, is Penn’s Landing Park. Attractions include Admiral Dewey’s flagship from the Spanish-American War, the Olympia; a World War II submarine, the Becuna, and the Moshulu, a steel-hull sailing ship converted to a restaurant.
Across from Penn’s Landing is a cluster of restored colonial townhouses on the cobblestone streets of Society Hill. Head House Square, built in 1805 as a firehouse, has been restored as an open-air market housing restaurants, craft shops, etc.
The 8000 acres of Fairmount Park located within the city make it the largest landscaped municipal park in the world, with creeks, rustic trails, lush meadows and 100 miles of bridle paths. You can rent sailboats, canoes and bicycles, play tennis and golf, see the Philadelphia symphony, or just play.
Fairmount Park trolley bus tours leave every 20 minutes from the visitors center, with stops at 21 attractions within the park, including museums and restored historical homes. You may get off and on with a single fare.
If shopping is your bag, there are several malls amid the countless specialty shops. Market Street East features the Gallery, an urban mall located between 8th and 10th Sts., and anchored by two major department stores, Gimbels and Strawbridge and Clothier. The John Wanamaker store at 13th and Market offers music in addition to its goods – a noontime concert on one of the largest pipe organs built.
Chestnut Street, one of Philadelphia’s most fashionable shopping streets, has been turned into a pedestrian mall for easier shopping. The Borse Building at 5th and Chestnut is another spot for restaurants and shops.
Ethnic specialities
Neighborhoods in Philadelphia carry ethnic and trade distinctions. One of these is the Italian Open Air Market, where sights and aromas of old Europe are emitted by the food shops and canopied fruit markets. It is on S. 9th St. at Washington Ave. Chinatown is on Race St. from 8th to 10th Sts. Pine St. from 9th to 12th is Philadelphia’s antique row, just as Sansom from 7th to 8th is known as Jeweler’s Row.
Philadelphia is an entertaining town. South Broad St. offers Broadway shows, and the Academy of Music, home of the renowned Philadelphia Orchestra, now under the baton of Italian conductor Ricardo Muti.
There are also “little” theaters, dinner theaters and night clubs.
There is ample opportunity to be sporting in Philly too. The Phillies play the Pittsburg Pirates on Sept. 19th before going on the road for the rest of the convention.
Horse racing (flat) is held at Keystone Race Track daily except Mondays and Thursdays. It is located in Cornwalls Heights, about 5 miles north of Philadelphia. Liberty Bell Park in northeast Philadelphia features harness racing, Tuesday to Saturday.
The Atlantic City Race Course is about 45 minutes away by car via the Atlantic City Expressway. If you don’t win there, you can go on to the casinos to try and recoup your losses.
The casinos at Atlantic City offer show business stars and the opportunity to get very rich, or very poor, by playing blackjack, craps, baccarat, roulette and the ever-clanging slot machines. There are also miles of boardwalk and beach to enjoy. Package deals to the casinos which include food, entertainment and some cash, are available.
Naturally beautiful
Nature lovers will relish Longwood Gardens, located on Rt. 1, about 20 miles west of Philadelphia. These great gardens of Pierre DuPont are comprised of 350 outdoor acres, and four acres of heated, glass-enclosed gardens, and exotic plant collections. Check with the tourist office for admission prices for Longwood and other attractions.
En route to Longwood is the Franklin Mint and Museum, the largest private mint displaying fine art medals, coins, jewelry and other collectibles. Tours are at 10 and 11 a.m., 1, 2, and 3 p.m. Hagley Museum, on the Brandywine River 3 miles north of Wilmington, Dela., features indoor-outdoor exhibits depicting the 19th century DuPont black powder milling community. It is open Tuesday through Saturday.
The third of the DuPont trio of attractions is Winterthur Museum and Gardens, containing the largest collection of Americana up to 1840, displayed in 200 period settings. There are over 60 acres of gardens and nature walks. It too, is closed Mondays.
Twenty miles from Philadelphia lies Valley Forge, sprawled across more than 2000 rolling acres. The remains and reconstruction of huts, fortifications and buildings used by George Washington’s ragged army of 10,000 men through the terrible winter of 1777-78 are here. Valley Forge marked the end of the American troops’ retreat, for when they left Valley Forge it was as a wellequipped, well-disciplined fighting force. It is part of the National Park Service.
