Independence Hall is a red brick building recognized by its central tower and the symmetry of its Georgian architecture. Construction began in seventeen thirty-two and lasted until seventeen fifty-three, when it opened as the Pennsylvania…
Best of Philadelphia
I've put together this walk to show you the absolute essentials of Philadelphia, from our historic birthplace to famous museums and markets. It's a straightforward route that covers the city's most iconic sights.
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1. Independence Hall
2. Liberty Bell Center
The Liberty Bell Center is defined by its long, low-slung glass chamber that sits prominently on Market Street, putting the massive bronze bell on display against the backdrop of Independence Hall. The building houses the…
3. Reading Terminal Market
Reading Terminal Market occupies the street-level floor and basement of what was once the Reading Railroad’s grand train terminal. You can recognize the structure by the massive arched roof that covers the former train shed, a landmark of…
4. Philadelphia City Hall
Philadelphia City Hall is distinguished by the massive, thirty-seven-foot bronze statue of William Penn that crowns its central tower. Rising five hundred forty-eight feet above Penn Square, this Second Empire style structure served as the…
5. Rittenhouse Square
Rittenhouse Square is defined by its ornate iron fence, which encloses six acres of green space arranged in a maze-like pattern of diagonal crosswalks. Originally designated as Southwest Square in William Penn’s sixteen eighty-one plan for…
6. The Franklin Institute
The Franklin Institute is a science museum and memorial housed within a massive Classical Revival building that stretches along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Founded in eighteen twenty-four by Samuel Vaughan Merrick and William Hypolitus…
7. Barnes Foundation
The Barnes Foundation is recognizable by its exterior of fossilized Israeli limestone and a glowing, cantilevered light box that appears to float above the structure. Established in nineteen twenty-two by Albert Barnes, a chemist who made…
8. Eastern State Penitentiary
Eastern State Penitentiary dominates its corner of Fairmount with thirty-foot-tall stone walls that look like a medieval fortress. When it opened in eighteen twenty-nine, the building was the largest and most expensive public project in…
9. Philadelphia Museum of Art Steps
Seventy-two stone steps climb toward the east entrance of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, a grand neoclassical facade designed in the nineteen twenties to anchor the top of Fairmount hill. While the architects intended the wide staircase…