Philly!

September 15 - 21, 2017

We have thoroughly enjoyed our stay in Philly!  Our marina is surrounded by the Spruce Street Harbor Park and Penn's Landing, with lots of activity every day.  The Independence Maritime Museum is next door.  Penn's Landing is where William Penn first landed in this area.  He was the founder of Philadelphia.

Independence Maritime Museum, Philadephia PA

The white warship, Olympia, can be toured with museum admission.  Dating to 1892, it is the oldest steel warship still afloat.  She served in the Spanish American War and World War I.  Moshulu, the four-masted barque behind her, houses a bar and restaurant.  Built in 1904, she is the oldest and largest square rigged sailing vessel still afloat.

Penn's Landing, Philadelphia PA

Behind these ships lies Spruce Street Harbor Park.  It is filled with hammocks, which are very popular.  Festive lights hang from the trees.

Spruce Street Harbor Park, Philadelphia PA

This unusual harbor front spot is part of a seating area serving a group of food and drink vendors.  The lower area extends entirely over the water and is floored with netting.  The Adirondack chair area is filled with beach sand.  Sauvy B is docked with the row of boats visible in the background.

Spruce Street Harbor Park, Philadelphia PA

A weekend Brazilian festival was part of a season-long series of ethnic festivals held at Penn's Landing.

Penn's Landing, Philadelphia PA

Evenings bring colorful lighting and lots of people to the park.  We enjoyed live music from several nearby outdoor venues on the weekend.

Spruce Street Harbor Park (foreground), Philadelphia PA

One part of Penn's Landing is dedicated to the Irish who emigrated to Philadelphia during the Great Potato Famine, 1845 - 1849.  The centerpiece is a bronze sculpture by Santa Fe artist, Glenna Goodacre.

Irish Memorial, Penn's Landing

I was fortunate to have seen this sculpture while still in clay, being sculpted by Glenna in her studio many years ago.  It was very moving to finally see the completed piece in its final setting.

Irish Memorial, Penn's Landing

Someone had recently left flowers at the base of this massive sculpture  - very touching!

Irish Memorial, Penn's Landing

An interstate highway passes between the waterfront and downtown Philadelphia.  This odd layout has led to a creative solution.  Several pedestrian walkways connect the waterfront park areas with the major downtown streets, enhancing the walk-ability of downtown Philly.

I95 walkover between Penn's Landing and downtown Philly

All the historical sights are within a few blocks of these walkovers, so we did a lot of walking while here.  Our first stop was Independence Hall.  The Liberty Bell once hung in the clock tower.

Independence Hall, Philadelphia PA

The Constitutional Convention was held in this Assembly Room where the final draft was signed.  Park rangers gave a brief overview of the historical events that took place here, including conveying the danger the signers were placed in as a result of their acts of defiance to the King of England.

Independence Hall, Philadelphia PA

No trip to Philly would be complete without seeing the Liberty Bell.  I had seen it as a young child and was impressed with the new facility housing the bell, much improved over the nondescript setting I remember.  Today it is housed in a separate museum with displays telling the history of the bell and various attempts to restore it, as well as it's symbolism of liberty over the centuries.

Liberty Bell, Philadelphia PA

We toured various other historic locations and especially enjoyed Carpenter's Hall.  Built in 1774, it housed the Carpenters' Company.  Founded in 1724, it is the oldest trade guild in America and is still active today.  Members are architects, engineers and builders. Many important historical meetings were held here, such as the First Continental Congress.

Carpenters' Hall, Philadelphia PA

Members still maintain the building, which is in remarkable condition, a testament to their skill.

Carpenters' Hall, Philadelphia PA

Philadelphia's City Hall is the largest municipal building in the US, including the US Capitol.  The location was set aside based on William Penn's 1682 layout of the city.  Finally begun in 1871, it took 30 years to complete.  The elaborate High Victorian architecture has been controversial since it was first designed.

City Hall, Philadelphia PA

Elaborate ornamentation is found everywhere.  The massive building, containing almost 700 rooms, has an open, central courtyard. 

Detail, Philadelphia City Hall

The staggering extravagance of the building left a sour taste in the mouths of many citizens, who ultimately paid for it's construction and maintenance.  Hmmm ... not much has changed, has it?

Detail, Philadelphia City Hall

Public tours take visitors on a very creepy elevator to an observation deck at the top of the clock tower, 548 feet above ground level.  The massive clocks are visible from the elevator windows through iron and brick support structures.  The tower is topped by a 37 foot statue of William Penn.

City Hall, Philadelphia PA

The downtown area, laid out by William Penn, has many lovely parks.  Massive old trees provide a respite from the usual hustle and bustle of a major city.

Franklin Square, Philadelphia PA

Walking everywhere, we passed hundreds of restored, historic buildings.  Most are still in use.  Downtown also has a large residential community, which sustains the many restaurants and shops in the area.

Historic buildings, Philadelphia PA

A vibrant Chinatown is located a few blocks from the historic district.  I had an interesting haircut experience here.  For the ladies, think Vietnamese nail salon, only for hair.  Not much English, but I got a great cut at a very reasonable price!

Chinatown, Philadelphia PA

Also downtown is Reading Terminal Market.  Housed in an old train station terminal, the re-purposed building is home to a plethora of "restaurants" (think trendy food trucks), meat, seafood, vegetable and gourmet markets, and a few other vendors.

Reading Terminal Market, Philly

With no major grocery stores downtown, this was a great place to stock up on food for the boat.

Reading Terminal Market, Philly

Prepared foods were quite good, too.  Of course we had to try Philly Cheese Steak sandwiches here!

Reading Terminal Market, Philly

Seafood was a little iffy, so we passed.

Reading Terminal Market, Philly

After our tour of City Hall and a quick lunch at Reading Terminal Market, we walked down Benjamin Franklin Parkway to the Philadelphia Art Museum.  The view from the City Hall tower is a good overview of this historic boulevard.  We actually took 2 days to see this area and still didn't see it all, but I will cover it in geographic order from downtown.

Benjamin Franklin Parkway from City Hall

The Parkway begins at a traffic circle around Logan Fountain and extends 1 mile to the Art Museum.  The grand boulevard, interspersed with lovely parks, was designed by William Penn as part of his original city plan.  We walked along the northeast side of the Parkway only; lots more buildings and things to see on the other side, just not enough time.

Logan Fountain, Philadelphia PA

Next to the fountain is this impressive Catholic cathedral, built in 1846.

Cathedral Basilica St. Peter and Paul, Philadelphia PA

On one side of Logan Fountain are two identical buildings.  This one houses the Free Library of Philadelphia; the other, unfortunately, lies vacant.

Free Library of Philadelphia

This Beaux-Arts building opened in 1927.  Visitors are encouraged to tour the building; docent-led tours are held daily.

Free Library of Philadelphia

The interior is quite grand.  We were unable to learn why local libraries are called "Free Library", since it would be unusual for any city library to not be free, but the name is common throughout New England.  There is likely some historical reason.

Detail, Free Library of Philadelphia

This is one of several massive rooms housing books and computer terminals.  Lots of peeling paint here; can't imagine the expense to maintain these ornate buildings, which are everywhere in Philadelphia.  We were also able to tour their impressive rare book collection.

Free Library of Philadelphia

Walking further down the Parkway, we pass this monument to "Colored Soldiers and Sailors of all Wars".

Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia PA

Next is the Barnes Foundation, a recent addition to the Parkway, opened in 2012.  The Foundation houses the art collection of local physician, Albert C. Barnes, now deceased.  Barnes became wealthy as the developer of Argyrol, a compound used to prevent blindness in newborn babies. 

His very impressive collection, mostly of post-impressionist and early modern art, includes over 150 works by Renoir.  The displays are arranged just as he had them in his home.  Each room has groupings of paintings, connected either by theme, color, or other trait, closely spaced, stacked up to 3 high, and mixed with decorative metal hardware from furniture, gates and other sources.  Most unusual and thought provoking!  No photos were allowed inside the museum.

Entrance, The Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia PA

Next door is the Rodin Museum, housing only sculptures by Rodin.  Numerous sculptures were visible in the lovely gardens surrounding the main building.  We didn't have time to go inside; maybe next time!

Rodin Museum, Philadelphia PA

Finally, at the end of Benjamin Franklin Parkway, lies the Philadelphia Museum of Art.  Note the statue to the left of the photo.  The steps leading up to the entrance are famous from scenes in the first Rocky movie.

The museum was huge and overwhelming, as expected.  We spent several hours walking through sections but didn't make a dent in the whole.  Most memorable was the phone call we got, while touring the museum, from the realtor who leased our home in Kemah asking if we are okay with a potential new tenant.  What???  First we had heard!  Seems our current tenant has already purchased another home and wants to find a new tenant to take over their lease!  Well, more on this later!

Philadelphia Museum of Art

This impressive statue sits in front of the Art Museum (see photo above).  Topped by a mounted Benjamin Franklin, the detail surrounding the base is equally impressive.

Detail, Eakins Oval statue of Benjamin Franklin on horseback

Friday, September 22, 2017

Our time in Philly has come to an end all too soon.  I know, we're supposed to not have a schedule, but we are watching all the hurricanes moving north and would be much more comfortable getting further inland.  So we cast off, cruising part way down the Delaware River to the C & D Canal, an easy 38-mile day.  We are now retracing part of our spring route and stop again at a marina on the Canal.

Schaefer's Canal House, Chesapeake City MD

Saturday, September 23, 2017

We get an early start for our 57-mile trip, heading southwest into the northern Chesapeake Bay, then turning northwest up the Patapsco River to Baltimore.  We plan a week's stay here.

Francis Scott Key Memorial Bridge and Baltimore MD