I’m not surprised. I grew up here too, and I never heard of it until I met my wife, who introduced me to gardens and gardening. If you come from a family that’s not into that sort of thing (mine wasn’t), and you don’t live close to Longwood or pass by it in your travels (I grew up a good hour away), I think it could easily never make it onto your radar.
Now, if you’re into gardening and you never heard of Longwood Gardens, that would be a big inexplicable hole in your knowledge!
I’m sure what Runestar says is true - they shouldn’t be hard to find if you’re in the Independence Hall area. I wish I could be more helpful on that, but I buy mine from a chain that has stores in South Jersey: Philly Soft Pretzel Factory. It’s probably sacreligious, but I like their pretzels better than most of the ones I can pick up on the street in the city. Looks like the nearest location they have to Independence Mall is at 11th and Sansom.
Yeah, I was only there a couple of days, but there were street-vendor carts everywhere selling cheesesteaks and pretzels.
from franklin institute (really nifty pirate exhibit arrrrg) the mutter is only 5ish blocks away. one block to 22nd (go out the 21st exit) and about 3 longish blocks to chestnut. it is a fast museum and had a reno recently. it does have really cool icky stuff in it and would take at the most 2 hours.
if you have time after fi and mutter, the eastern state penn is just 3 blocks away from the parkway. really cool thing to visit and tons of places to eat after.
for sure go to the constitution center, they have a baseball thing going on, at least i think it is still going on. ohhh, almost forgot, don’t forget elfreds alley.
yes, franklin institute and independence hall are not horribly far away… however broad street must be crossed.
an odd philly thing is, that broad street is quite a barrier. “it’s on the other side of broad… huh, well, never mind” is the mind set. when you are on the east side (ih at 5th st.) you stay there, and if you are on the west side (fi 20th st.) you stay there. the only time you cross broad is if you are hanging out in a 4 block zone (15th and 16th. 13th and 12th) around it.
One other suggestion: If you get a curbside parking space on a narrow one-way street, and when you’re ready to leave you happen to glance in your rearview mirror to check approaching traffic and you see some construction equipment coming up behind your position, I do not recommend waiting politely for the large vehicles to pass before pulling out, because they may just plop themselves down right ahead of or next to you and block the narrow street and prevent you from pulling out for a half hour.
</voice of experience>
I was in Philly a couple of weeks ago and the Barnes Museum is definitely worth a look see. It’s an estate where some rich doctor set up his rather eclectic impressionist art collection. The house is covered in paintings arranged in a fashion that the Doctor found aesthetically pleasing. The museum has been mired in controversy because the board wants to move the collection to downtown Philadelphia in direct violation of the wishes set down in Dr. Barnes’ will. I think you should see it in it’s original environment.
You have to get tickets in advance, though.
Elfreth’s Alley is the oldest continuously inhabited residential street in America and a National Historic Landmark. It’s a very narrow alley-like street off Second Street between Arch and Race in Philadelphia’s Old City neighborhood. All the houses are inhabited, with many tourists walking up and down the extremely narrow streets, and no traffic. There are a few side streets shooting off the main street with the same very small row houses and quaint atmosphere. You can really imagine yourself in colonial America. In summer there will be period-costumed demonstrations of colonial crafts, etc.
How about the Kimmel Center? It’s the new (since 2001) home of the Philadelphia Orchestra, but it’s also a large and interesting indoor public space open all day with free informal events and displays in its courtyards. There are regular free tours of the main concert hall. There are nice views of the city from its upper level and roof. It’s not a place to spend a lot of time, but worth wandering into if you happen to be on that section of Broad Street, and especially if the weather threatens.
South Street is still where all the hippies meet. There’s a grand archway entrance to it directly from Penn’s Landing. If you happen to be parked at Penn’s Landing, walking up and down the length of (the tourist part of) South Street shouldn’t take more than an hour or so.
This is very offbeat, but the best views of Philadelphia are from the Benjamin Franklin Bridge walkway. I consider it safe, crimewise, and it is patrolled, but keep in mind there are absolutely no tourists on it. The entrance to the walkway is across the street from Franklin Square. Franklin Square had been down-and-out for many years but is reborn and revitalized in the past year and is now a showplace, with the City of Philadelphia providing attractions such as street performers, story-tellers for children, etc.
The Ben Franklin Bridge walkway has spectacular views both of the city and up and down the Delaware River. An added touch is the subway that crosses the bridge adjacent to the walkway. By the time you walk across and back (don’t continue into Camden) numerous trains will have rumbled past. The walkway is clean and well-maintained.
Actually, Cal, I don’t recommend this for your family but I just posted it here for what its worth. These are views that can only be gotten this way.
(Bolding mine). Hah. They actually should put signs up on the walkway that say that.
Remember, we here at The Straight Dope are experts. Don’t try this in Philadelphia!
The Rodin Museum on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway is free and quick and has more Rodins than anywhere outside Paris. You will, I’m sure, at some point be on the Parkway and you can stroll past The Thinker and duck in through the Gates of Hell for a quiet cool respite.
Look for Calder mobiles and stabiles around the Ben Franklin Parkway. Alexander Calder, inventor of the mobile, his father and grandfather were all Philadelphia-centered. Most of Alexander Stirling Calder’s (the father) sculptures are in and around Philadelphia, including William Penn atop City Hall.
I think the grandfather did the sculpture in the middle of the fountain at Eakins Circle (right in front of the Art Museum).
The tallest thing you’ll see on your trip (after crossing the George Washington Bridge) is Philadelphia’s Comcast Center, the tallest buiding between New York and Chicago. It’s brand new – Comcast is still moving in.
As recently as 1987 no building in Philadelphia rose above William Penn’s hat atop City Hall. Since then, the Curse of William Penn has come into existence owing to the proliferation of tall buildings.
If you’re looking for a nice place to eat try Dante and Luigi’s , just take a look at their menu.
They say they only accept cash and checks, but if you let them know you’re from out of town they’ll accept your credit card.
I don’t see the address in the website, but they’re on 10th and Catherine.
Walk into Christ Church, 2nd & Market Sts, and search out the brass plaques marking the pews where George Washington, Ben Franklin and Betsy Ross sat regularly. Well, Franklin not so regularly. He paid for a pew though, and is buried in its cemetery at 5th and Arch along with four other signers of the Declaration of Independence.
At noon (Mon-Sat) you can stop in Macy’s center city store and hear a concert on the Wanamaker Organ, the world’s largest.