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Published: January 23rd 2008
At the Heart of Philadelphia
Philadelphia City Hall, its clock prominently seen from the freeways, they call it. Maybe I've gotten so used to the term "downtown" but
Center City is pretty much what a "downtown" should be. However, my first morning in Philadelphia broadened my initial perspective of this city. Philadelphia's Center City is
not just another business district. It was once the cradle of US civilization. Civilization is a strong word, I know. But let me use that word for now. Cut me some slack. Afterall, I'm just a tourist!
We took the same road we took last night when
Ayeen and Jimmy picked us up from Washington DC. I think it was Broad Street and I recall seeing interesting buildings on our left (we were heading south). Once again, I saw the
Philadelphia City Hall which was beautifully lit last night -- its clock gleaming with yellow light. It was very visible from the freeway.
I would like to think that Center City was built around this city hall. Around it is Penn(sylvania) Square, the name of the state. I do not have enough knowledge on architecture but the city hall speaks well enough of how much history this city has. Looking up Google Maps, it's very evident that
Good Morning, Philly!
Philadelphia City Hall on the right the city's major streets radiate from the city hall's location. I wish I could see a $100 dollar bill right now. I read online that this city hall is at the back of it.
Charming Philadelphia
To savor our presence at the heart of Philly,
Ayeen took us to the park right across the city hall. Google Maps tells me it's the
JFK Plaza which has the word "LOVE" on it. There was actually a bunch of tourists like us who had to fall in line to take a picture with "LOVE". Standing at the park, we were surrounded by buildings both old and new. I think that's what gives Philly it's charm. It's quaint, yet modern. It's old, yet new. I say old because Philadelphia was the first capital of the United States. Yup, I always thought it has always been Washington DC. But hey, isn't that the fun in travelling? We get to learn some history! I also remember that we passed by a very old train station. After doing some research, I learned that what I saw was actually the
Pennsylvania Railroad Suburban Station which was one of the oldest in the country.
Why Benjamin Franklin?
We drove to
Logan Square and enjoyed another view of the city hall. As we stood at Logan Square, we saw the
Benjamin Franklin Parkway lined with flags of the countries of the world. The Philippine Flag is also along the Franklin Parkway, but not at this stretch that we were looking at.
Ayeen took a snap, thanks to her.
In the middle of Logan Square is a fountain adorned by life-size angels. No water for now, maybe in the Spring and Summer only. On one side is the
Franklin Institute Science Museum. Oh, I miss going to science museums. You know, those field trips we went to in grade school and high school. But it was closed and we only have a few hours that morning to go around Center City because we are heading to Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Again, I had one of those moments when I ask myself questions that I can't wait to find out through the internet.
Why Benjamin Franklin? Why have I been reading his name in roads and buildings around Philadelphia? We passed by a beautifully-lit bridge last night and it was named
Benjamin Franklin Parkway
This road is lined with flags from around the world. This is another view of the City Hall from Logan Square. Benjamin Franklin Bridge! Why? Everyone knows about his stormy kite story. I know he discovered that lightning and electricity were the same thing. Did he discover Philadelphia as well? Was he born here?
Note to self: Google Benjamin Franklin Philadelphia Thank God, the Gates of Hell Were Closed!
We passed by
The Free Library which had a Shakespeare Memorial in front. We walked some more going north west and passed by the
Rodin Museum. I am not really a Rodin fan; actually, I know next to nothing about art but I know his popular work,
The Thinker. Alas! I just had my 3rd sighting of it! My first was in Stanford University in California. My second was at the Detroit Art Museum.
I have never seen a replica of his
Gates of Hell so I encouraged my friends to walk into the entrance of the museum at least. The Rodin Museum was closed, but I get to see the museum's door which had a replica of, guess what, the
Gates of Hell. Thank God it was closed.
Gaaaah! Isn't that the corniest joke I ever made? Hehehe!
The "Rocky" Steps
We
Philippine Flag along Franklin Parkway
Photo taken by Ayeen (sweet_sentiments) continued to walk on dry autumn leaves crackling beneath us. Ahhh, so colorful! We can't help but take pictures with the red-orange trees of Philadelphia! It was soo pretty! We continued walking towards some big building, which exactly, I don't know. All I knew was that we were going to see Rocky. And there he was! Fists in the air wearing high-waisted boxing shorts. Hehehe... sure, it was a movie in the 80s or maybe even the 70s. It was fun making silly poses with Rocky!
There was a wide and long staircase close to where Rocky was. I noticed that there were a few more tourists running up the stairs then throwing their hands in the air, in boxing stance. Hmmm.... I don't know what they were doing that for, but I want to do that too!! Haha! I am fully aware that I've seen very few movies in my lifetime so I had to ask my friends what the fuss was about!
Now, I know, that Rocky made those steps famous. Those steps lead to the
Philadelphia Museum of Art. For some reason, it felt a bit weird to me that these tourists were here not
for the art museum. They were here for Rocky!
Gaaah! Pop culture. And oh, the sculpture on one side of the staircase was
The Amazon. I blame Rocky for taking all the limelight.
An Arse at the Top
From atop the staircase was a good view of Center City. Straight across was the City Hall that looked small and thin compared to the big commercial buildings that makes up most of the city skyline. Directly looking at the same direction is the
Washington Monument. It depicts George Washington riding a horse. So it was the horse's butt that directly faces me.
I Have Cool Friends
Technology brought out the kid in us. We set the timer in our digital cameras and made many poses with the art museum in the background. We did this till my camera died. It ran out of power! And we yet have to go to Atlantic City. No! This can't be! I asked Jimmy and
Ayeen if we could go back to her apartment and get my spare battery. Ok! I know, it was my fault too. I should have brought it with me this morning. Tsk
tsk... my bad. I am so, so grateful they were cool about it.
My First Meal in a Real Diner
They took us to a local diner called Nifty Fifty's. I must say that I have never been inside a
real diner. The outside had neon signs while the inside had cozy booths, red bar stools, ceiling fans, and shiny, checkered black-and-red floors -- just what a diner should look like, I think. It also had one chunky jukebox by the main entrance. Cool!
I've always associated diners with milkshakes (very American, right?) so I decided to order their Chocolate Milkshake despite the fact that Nifty Fifty's has an award-winning orange juice in Philly. I had a crabcake sandwich with it. Haha! Isn't it funny that I considered the milkshake the entree of my meal? Wehehehe! So, what can I say about the milkshake? It was SO good! No wonder it's one of America's favorite food. And oh, I had a map of Philly on my milkshake.
I Got Charmed! Again!
With full bellies and a fully-charged spare battery (for my digital camera), we were ready for more places to see.
Jimmy took us to the south eastern side of Center City. The route we took was interesting to me because we passed by busy shops and wet markets.
Ayeen pointed out
Market Street, which is appropriately named for its numerous shops and commercial establishments. It was a Black Friday, the day when most retails chains give enormous discounts, so there were a lot of people marching along the stores with shopping bags. Ironically, there were a bunch of people carrying signs that say 'Buy Nothing Day'.
I got a bit excited when I started to see weighing scales hung by a small market roof. Looks just like the wet markets back home. Jimmy said we were passing by
Little Italy and all other little cities the immigrants have created for themselves. All the more I felt charmed by Philly when we drove on a cobblestone street. Jimmy said it's Philadelphia's
Old City. And rent in this area does not come cheap! Ahhhh..... so charming! It had small shops, pubs and restaurants that speak culture instead of commercialism.
What Philadelphia Is All About
As we cruised down Market Street, they pointed out we were passing by
The Thinker
This is the 3rd replica I've seen in the US the
Liberty Bell. Suddenly, my half-asleep roommate woke up and got excited talking about the scenes in the movie
National Treasure. I have never seen the movie and I have the faintest idea of what it's about. Here goes another note to self: Borrow a copy of National Treasure. Geeez! I'm starting to feel sorry for myself!
The
Liberty Bell is housed inside the
Independence National Historical Park. It is the country's symbol of its independence from British rule. There was a very long line around the area so we automatically dismissed the idea of seeing the Liberty Bell up close. Sorry, no pictures. Right across is the
Independence Hall which I took a picture of. This is where the
Declaration of Independence was signed in July 4th 1776. We drove in front of it and parked across a sculpture of
The Signer. These few moments of seeing these important landmarks of American History has personally charmed me more about this wonderful city which I used to only know as "The City of Brotherly Love". (More about this below; so read on.)
Penn-Sylvania
I've been hearing about the place called
Penn's Landing but I never
Gates of Hell
... is "not in service" at the moment. The Rodin Museum was closed. really knew what it was. But a lot of things have made sense to me when my friends and I stepped on a waterfront area not too far from our last stop, the Independence National Historical Park. I once read that a certain
William Penn discovered Philadelphia. He was the one who named the city "
Philadelphia", which is Greek for brotherly love (philos, "love" or "friendship", and adelphos, "brother"). On the other hand, the name of the state, "
Pennsylvania", is named after William's father,
Admiral Penn. It means "Penn's Woods". Sylvania literally means "forest land". I bet these are 5th grader questions. It must be fun learning these things in school! Uhoh... please don't think I'm a geek. I just like learning new things. *grin*
Having said all that, it must be pretty obvious why this place is called
Penn's Landing. They say this was the waterfront where
William Penn first set foot on. Circa 1600s. But my online research says it's not the actual place where his ship docked. Well, whatever.
Penn's Landing is a nice place to relax and feel the breeze from the Delaware River. We had a good view of the
Benjamin Franklin Bridge which we will be taking today to get to another state, New Jersey. From where we were standing at, we could see the buildings of Camden, New Jersey. The view reminded me of another park in Detroit where I can see another country, Canada! Call me shallow, but moments like these never fail to amaze me.
We spent some time watching the ice skaters making happy noises. There were bleachers fit for concerts and crowdy events.
Ayeen explains most of the city's fun events are held here especially during the Summer.
Time was running out so we decided to move on. As we left the area, I noticed a mural depicting
William Penn and his Quaker friends (think Quaker Oats, hehe!) handing/receiving documents to/from native Indians. What it really is about, I yet have to know.
Hey, They Print Money Here!
We drove back to the
Independence National Historical Park and we saw more tourists in the streets. There were tourist trolleys parked on each side in N 5th St. As we cruised along this street (going north), I somehow read
"United States Mint" on a building on my right. Huwaaa.... what was that?!
Wow! Is that where they print their green money?! Wheee!
As we took the
Benjamin Franklin Bridge, I felt relieved knowing that we were not really leaving Philly yet. We'll be away for a couple of hours to Atlantic City. So
Philly, I will be back. *wink* *wink*
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von
non-member comment
wow
love ur pics. swerte mo naman at napupuntahan mo mga lugar na ganyan...