Saturday, April 11, 2009

some tour ideas

I've thought about possible tour ideas, and here are a few I’ve come up with so far. I'm not sure exactly how many I will end up doing on the site; I'd like to do more than just one or two though:
Immigration/Waterfront:

Sites relating to Philadelphia's waterfront and immigrant history.

Start at Penn's Landing (either park there, or get off at 2nd Street subway stop). Would include the Irish Famine Memorial, the Independence Seaport Museum (which has an exhibit on immigration), possibly the Christopher Columbus monument, possibly Welcome Park, the Polish-American Cultural Center, a few Society Hill sites along 4th Street, Fabric Row, Washington Avenue, Mummers Museum, the Sparks Shot Tower, and Gloria Dei (Old Swedes') Church (see photo). About 2.5 miles.

Holidays:

For December, a route to see the city's lights, sights, and shops of the holiday season.

Start at Independence visitor Center (either park at garage there, or get off at 5th Street subway stop). Would include the Curtis Center (big Christmas tree, Hanukkah dreidel, see photo), Jeweler's Row, 8th and Market (historic department store epicenter with old Lit Brothers and Strawbridge & Clothier's buildings, as well as the old Gimbel's site), The Gallery (Santa), the toy train display in the Reading Terminal headhouse, Macy's (old Wanamaker's light show and Dickens Village), City Hall (tree, outdoor vendors), the Shops at Liberty Place (another big tree), Walnut Street shops, Rittenhouse Square (yet another tree, lights, and the church where "O Little Town of Bethlehem" was written). Between 1.5 and 2 miles.

"Building-Gawkers' Tour":

I don't really have a name for this one yet, but essentially a tour to see some of Philly's most impressive interiors and skyline views. Or, a tour to take people on who have only seen Old City or South Street or the zoo and who haven't quite grasped yet that Philly is a "real" city.

Start near Broad and Pine (get off at Lombard-South subway stop, or park nearby). Would include the Kimmel Center (with one of their daily tours), Avenue of the Arts, City Hall, West Market Street, Comcast Center, JFK Plaza/LOVE Park (see photo, minus the humid June swing-dancers), the Parkway, Logan Square, the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial in the Franklin Institute, the Schuylkill Banks trail from Race to Market, 30th Street Station. About 2.5 miles.

Walnut Street:

A tour for either the most ambitious, or the most directionally-challenged. Just one street, from Penn's Landing to the Restaurant School, I think (4200 block), though that end could change. Or perhaps vice versa. One site per block, when possible. Between 3.5 and 4 miles total, though folks could easily just do a portion of the tour.

Another simple tour that I've thought of is one connecting the four Center City squares, but that seems a little tooo easy. I also thought of a "pre-game tour" (more of a list) of sites within 1.5 miles of the sports complex: places people can easily walk to and from before a sporting event or concert. I'm still debating that one though. I did like someone's suggestion about unknown spots; I incorporated a few into the above ideas but I'm not sure if I did enough yet. But I'll think more about places like that.

4 comments:

  1. These tours sound great; I can't wait to try them. Living in West Philly for about 20 years without a car, I walked everywhere I went. Most weekends I would stroll from 45th Street down to the Ritz theaters at least once. Whenever I remembered to look up, I would see amazing architectural features on buildings that looked like nothing from ground level. --ELC

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  2. I can see the holiday tour getting a lot of hits. Philly does a nice job of dressing itself up for Christmas, and the last time I had a friend visit me over the holidays, I could have definitely used this kind of guide.

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  3. I have never visited the Holiday sites in Philly, so I would love to see that tour!

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  4. Shaun,

    I like your color scheme on the blog and the website. Very nice.

    Doreva

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