When I was working in Motorsports, I would fly into Philadelphia to get to a Drag Race nearby. I would come into town a day early or stay a day late, after the race, to spend time in Philly. I took the bus tour and got some good photos of the city. There’s walking tours that I saw also and the tour guide is in costume. These seemed to be very informative and a fun way to learn about history. The next time I’m in town I’m going to do one of those tours.
Philadelphia is the fifth largest city in the U.S., with a population of about 1.5 million people. William Penn founded the city in 1682 to serve as capital of the Pennsylvania Colony.
I saw a lot of buildings with flags on them. It’s a very patriotic city.
Philadelphia played an important part in the Revolutionary War. It served as a meeting place for the Founding Fathers. And they signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and the Constitution in 1787.
The city is known for its’ arts, culture and history, which attracted 39 million tourists in 2013. This tourism generated 10 billion dollars for the city.
It’s also the home of 7 Fortune 1,000 companies.
Philadelphia’s Fairmont Park is the largest landscaped urban park in the world. It spans 4,100 acres.
The city is famous for a lot of “First’s”. They had the first zoo, library, hospital, medical school, business school, stock exchange and also the first Capital.
Here’s a photo of their library.
With more than 2,000 murals, Philadelphia has earned the name “Mural Capital of the U.S.”
Here are some of the murals you see around the city.
Philly also has many sculptures, art and statues around the city.
“Government of the People” abstract sculpture.
This is the Drexel Dragon statue.
The Clothespin.
Below is the George Washington monument.
This is the Joan of Arc statue.
And another statue of Washington.
Ben Franklin on a park bench with a pigeon.
Everyone remembers the famous “Rocky” statue.
There’s also many Memorials.
This is the Union League building and I think it’s an example of really cool architecture. I love the color of this building.
‘The Philadelphia Inquirer’ is the 3rd oldest daily newspaper still being published today.
In 1855, the first hospital devoted to children was founded. 1 out of every 6 doctors receive training in Philadelphia.
Philly’s Chinatown was started in the mid – 19th century by Cantonese immigrants who opened laundries and restaurants near the Philadelphia commercial wharves. The first business was a laundry, which opened in 1871.
The first zoo opened July 1st, 1874. Today there are more than 13,000 animals on 42 acres of land.
The first Thanksgiving Day Parade was held in Philadelphia in 1920.
Here’s a neighborhood in Philly.
Philadelphia’s nicknames include Philly, The City of Brotherly Love, The Birthplace of America, The City that Loves You Back, The City of Neighborhoods, The Quaker City and The Cradle of Liberty.
Philadelphia is also famous for the “Philly Cheesesteak”. It’s a sandwich with thinly sliced steak with cheese and onions in a long roll. The origin is in the early 20th century and some say it was started by Pat and Harry Olivieri, who had a hot dog stand. They made the sandwich one day and a cab driver wanted one. He then suggested they just focus on these sandwiches. The rest is history.
The city’s motto is “Philadelphia maneto”, which means “Let brotherly love endure.”
In Philly in 1775, Johann Behrent built the first piano made in America.
I took a walk around and saw this sign.
Ben Franklin received honorary degrees from Harvard, Yale, the University of St. Andrews, the University of Oxford and the University of Edinburgh.
He was one of 5 men who helped write the Declaration of Independence. Ben also developed the first library, volunteer fire department and started the first fire insurance company in 1752.
Ben Franklin was a Printer, a Writer, a Politician, an Inventor, a Scientist, a Volunteer Firefighter, a Librarian, a Postmaster, a Bookstore owner and a Soldier in the Philadelphia militia.
An article about Philadelphia would not be complete without mentioning sports. Philly has 5 main sports teams: (in order of popularity) the Phillies, the Eagles, the Flyers, the 76ers and the Union.
I like the Eagles the best though since I’m a fan of football.
This is where the Liberty Bell is kept.
I wrote an article all about the Liberty Bell and you can find it on my Blog.
I hope you found my article about Philadelphia interesting to read. You can check out my photos from the bus tour and 25,000 more on my website.
Also, you can ‘Like’ my Facebook page for updates about what events and places I’ll be traveling to next.
Spider Michaels
Great photos. You covered a lot of ground.