The clan Meacham is going to Pennsylvania next week for a long-needed vacation. We were supposed to go last year, but circumstances beyond our control cancelled it.
We’ll spend two days in Philadelphia, because, although we grew up not that far away from there, Pepper Mill and I haven’t been back in ages, and MilliCal has never been there.
No kid should grow up without going through the Giant Heart at the Franklin Institute (I know you have your other giant walk-through organs elsewhere, like the travelling Giant Colon, or the Giant Vagina they once had at the British Museum (Natural History), but for my money, the Giant Heart beats 'em all hollow).
We love 1776 and John Adams, so we have to see Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell and all the stuff nearby.
And none of us have seen the Mutter Museum. This looks like it’s a real hoot. Talk about your Walk-Through colons!
I know there’s other stuff nearby – Dewey’s flagship, and Edgar Allen Poe house, a Three Stooges memorabilia collection, Thomas Jefferson’s house, Betsy Ross’ house, and so on. There are several Ghost Tours (Pepper and MilliCal love ghost tours. At their best, they’re Stealth History Lessons.) Given our sensibilities – which most Dopers who read my posts ought to have some idea of, if this post doesn’t give a good idea – are there any suggestions? Any offbeat things you’d really recommend? I ha ve to go check the Cheesesteak thread, but are any good ones near the Center City that we should hit? I;m not sure we’re going to see the Art Institute (I like Art Museums, but I don’t recall anything there particularly arresting, and I’m certainly not going to trek all the way up there just to see the Rocky Statue.)
Anything else outside Philly you’d recommend? Despite growing up nearby, Pepper has never been on the Hershey’s tour, nor has MilliCal, so we HAVE to go there. Aside from Hershey Park, ids there anything else nearby?
The art museum has a very good permanent collection – not sure what the summer blockbuster is this year. Worth a visit.
For lunch, on a day when you’re in Center City – Reading Terminal Market, at 12th and Arch. You can get a cheesesteak or hoagie there – or Mexican, Chinese, etc. Or a slab of meat or some fresh fish.
When down by Independence Hall, check out Ben Franklin’s house, on Market between 3rd and 4th. When you need a break from history, there’s also a good used book store – The Book Trader – on 2nd just north of Market.
Any chance you’d want to do a Doper dinner one of the nights?
ETA: Nearby, if you like gardens, there’s Chanticleer in Wayne – which I like better than Longwood, but not everyone agrees with me.
we might be up for it, if any Dopers are interested. I’m not sure how rushed it would feel, though. If any Dopers are interested, they can post here or contact me via my e-mail.
I don’t know if I’d bother with the Mutter Museum; I found it disappointing. If you do go, don’t budget too much time for it, as it’s not very big, and you might want to skip it if anyone in your party is easily squicked out.
I love Longwood, but it’s a bit out there, and you might just want to stay in town if you don’t feel like doing a lot of driving. You can always hit up the Liberty Bell/Constitution Center stuff (they redid the Constitution Center a few years ago with a “laser light show” that is sublime in its cheesiness). If everyone gets tired, you can do that Duck Tour thing (which I’ve never done, I’ve heard good enough things about). I second the art museum, if you have the time.
Ooh. The Academy of Natural Sciences has a Gregor Mendel exhibit up! That looks fun!
What’s Longwood?
We’ve been on Duck Tours elsewhere. I think I’ll skip that, thanks.
We’ll pass on the Laser Light show, too – it’s the Real Thing we want to see there – where the important stuff took place, and the Liberty Bell (if only because it IS an icon, even if its main claim to fame is mostly hype.)
I love art, but I don’t recall anything really compelling about the Art Institute, although it’s admittedly been years. Is there anything really good and compelling there?
Longwood Gardens, out in Kennett Square. World-famous gardens on what was an estate of one of the DuPonts.
What do you consider compelling? Their collection of Impressionists is small but solid; they’re also good on American decorative stuff. I took prr (who’s quite knowlegable) and he thought it was worth the visit. (Note: It is the Philadelphia Museum of Art – if you’re searching for “Art Institute” you’re probably coming up dry. There’s also the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts at Broad and Cherry – about three blocks from Reading Terminal – which has an okay collection but a wonderful 19th-century building.)
When exactly are you coming? We can probably round up a few people for dinner, at least.
Why is this worth seeing? I’m not a big garden fan (and it’s not sufficiently famous that everyone’s heard of it and knows why it should be visited. I grew up in New Jersey and I’ve never heard of it.)
Here are some suggestions for the day you go to the Franklin Institute. First off, I wouldn’t try to do all the Independence Hall/historical stuff on the same day as you do the Institute. Parking at the Institute’s garage is not a bad idea. When you’re done there, you could check out the area around the Philadelphia Museum of Art, if not the museum itself. There’s some parking there, and if you can find a spot, you could easily check out the Rocky Statue, and maybe stroll around the Water Works area. Good views of Boathouse Row from here. Whether you do that or not, definitely go to Smith Playground in Fairmount Park and do the big slide - it’s fun for all ages! While you’re in Fairmount Park, you could go to the Japanese House and Garden It’s very nice. That sounds like a pretty full day to me, without too much rushing to get things done, and minimal driving/parking hassles. Might be a good day to try for your Doper dinner.
Second Twickster’s recommendation of Chanticleer - it’s a nice garden, way smaller than Longwood, and has some pretty cool things in it. Morris Arboretum is also very nice. Longwood Gardens is beautiful, but it’s very big, and to do it all takes most of a day.
If you were to head out to Longwood, one cool thing not too far from there is the Herr’s Snack Factory, where you can take a free tour. Highly recommended, and way better than the Hershey’s tour, which hasn’t been an actual factory tour for decades now. If you want to do a day outside the city but Longwood isn’t your thing, you could start with the Herr’s tour and then take a fairly short drive up to Strasburg for the Strasburg Rail Road. Don’t know how old Millical is, but for younger kids it’s usually a hit. Then you’re in Lancaster County, where there is a lot more to do and plenty of good food!
We’ll be there this coming Sunday and Monday, most likely, by the way.
Wasn’t planning on the Franklin Institute and Indepence Hall on the same day – too far apart.
The stuff I recommended in Fairmount Park is not open on Mondays, I think, so if you’re interested in those things, plan to do them on Sunday. Are you planning to go to Hershey Park on one of those two days, or is that a separate day from the Philly days?
True, but if you plan to drive from one to the other, then you have to deal with parking twice, which can be a pain in Center City. Even if that weren’t an issue for you, to do both the historical stuff and the Franklin Institute in one day, and do them justice, would be very difficult, not to mention exhausting.
The Philadelphia Museum of Art is wonderful if, and only if, everyone in your family is into art and old enough to appreciate art. If not, then I would recommend skipping it. They’re doing a lot of construction up there right now (building an underground parking garage I believe), so parking is tight. And, as others have noted, it’s at the other end of Center City from the historical stuff.
We visited the Constitution Museum a couple of years ago, and were very impressed by it. It’s fairly new, it’s at the other end of Independence Mall from Independence Hall, so it can be part of the historical visit day.
The Franklin Institute can take up most of a day, but there’s also the Academy of Natural Sciences which is nearby (both face onto Logan Circle). The Academy has a decent dinosaur collection; the rest of the exhibits are mostly dioramas of stuffed critters (at least that’s what was there the last time I visited - about a decade ago).
The Mutter museum probably isn’t worth a special trip if you’re just in town for a couple of days. If you were there longer, it might be worth it, but it’s down near 22nd and Chestnut, a ways from anything else that you might want to see.
For just two days I think focusing on the historical area (Independence Hall, Liberty Bell, Constitution Museum) plus the Franklin Institute is probably more than enough. Also, another vote for the Benjamin Franklin House and museum (which is located underground beneath where his house stood).
That seems reasonable to me, too, if you don’t want to turn it into a 2 day sightseeing Death March. You can skip the Constitution center if it’s not your thing, but when I’ve taken people around, it’s been a nice break in the summer, because it’s cold and dark in there and you can sit down.
You also obviously want to leave plenty of restaurant time, which is reason enough to visit.
/edit- This thread reminds me that I should change my location; I’m a dirty suburbanite now.
I’m a little surprised that you grew up in the area and don’t know about it - it’s huge, and one of the most famous gardens in the US. I came into the thread to recommend it, actually, if you are willing to go that far out. (Though personally, I think that Christmas is the best time to visit.)
Take a look at the website for details about their shows and such.
Allow lots of time for this. First, the crowds are substantial, so the park’s admissions are in the form a “timed ticket” granting you access during a particular window. You pick this up at the visitor center, issued same day only (no “next day” tickets). Therefore, you should either plan to do these sights first thing in the morning, or get your ticket first thing in the morning so you can do the sights at the time you want.
The other reason to allow the time: They’re really cool and you won’t want to rush through. The Liberty Bell exhibit is really outstanding, very up to date, well organized, lots of information… I was really impressed. We browsed for an hour and I would have been happy staying for two. (Best part was standing on the “back” side of the Bell and just observing the incredible diversity of the crowds. “I’m looking at America,” I thought, and got a little choked up. Getting choked up now, too.)
Also, on the Independence Hall grounds, they’ve got this cool feature where you can use your cell phone to call a “guided tour” line and press various numbers to indicate your location and get a recorded description of the spot. Very simple but very clever use of technology. I only listened to a fraction of what was available; if I’d had the time, I would have cheerfully blown half the day going from hotspot to hotspot, listening to every available tidbit (“and this is the inkwell…”).
If the historic area doesn’t have multiple food carts selling soft pretzels (and sodas, and hot dogs, etc.), then it’s no longer the Philadelphia where I grew up
