Though thinking about site ideas is fun, and images are easy because I can just go take more photos if necessary, I've realized that there are a couple other considerations for this web site too:

First, maps. A walking tour site is hardly complete--or at least isn't very helpful--without maps. But what maps should I use? Can I use maps from Google if I attribute them? Should I go get historic (public domain) maps from the Free Library or somewhere? Those would be cool to look at but also potentially confusing if the geography has changed from when the maps were made. Or should I try to "draw" my own feeble maps using a program like Adobe Acrobat, MS Publisher, Paint, or something like that?

Another thing that I have yet to think about is the "color palette" for the site. I don't think this will be a major concern, but there are a few different ways I could go that will change how the site looks and feels. Should I use browns and tans to evoke something historic? Greens to evoke parks, trees, and strolling generally? White and blues to evoke water, sky, and/or patriotism? Greys and brick reds for buildings? I'm leaning just toward tans as a base color, because I like brown (obviously) and because it seems unobtrusive and comforting. Though greys are too. Hmm. Actually I suppose each tour can look slightly different, so I'll probably combine tans/greys/whites with whatever more interesting color seems best for that tour.

there's a reason they're unknown

I've thought about lesser-known or underrated places in Philly, but in most cases I run into one of two problems: A couple are in Old City but are simply drowned in the more important sites (Bishop White House, Chemical Heritage Foundation, Magnolia Garden, etc.; the photo is the Bishop White House dining room; on the fireplace is a gas lamp! Very unusual for the 1790s...), but most just aren't near anything else and thus don't lend themselves well to walking tours.

Stenton House is a nice old mansion from 1730 (as context for how early that was, Ben Franklin was 24 years old in 1730) that was the home of James Logan, originally William Penn's representative in Pennsylvania and essentially the first mayor of Philadelphia. But it's way up in North Philly (it was Logan's country estate) and thus is a trip unto itself.

Memorial Hall, built for the 1876 Centennial Exposition and recently refurbished into the new home of the Please Touch Museum, is also very impressive and has a great exhibit on the exposition (as well as a working historic amusement-park carousel) but is also rather by itself.

Finally, Bartram's Garden (see photo) is in West Philly, along the Schuylkill, and is a great little-known site with a historic home and barn, a garden, a wooded walking trail along the river, a field with a clear view of the skyline, as well as the surreal sense that it feels nothing like the rest of West Philly. Unfortunately, it's down near 54th Street, so even a walking tour of University City/West Philly isn't likely to get down that far.

The American Swedish Historical Museum on Pattison Avenue is fairly nice as historical societies go, and seemingly under-noticed, so I'm still tempted to do a sports complex "tour" of nearby sites. It might not be very long, but it probably doesn't need to be; people could get lost all day in FDR Park...

Being a chronologically-minded person, I also wanted to create a tour where the sites could be completely chronological and give a time-travel effect, but I haven't yet come up with a tour that doesn't involve too much doubling back or the need to send the person to a far-flung stop or two. We'll see.

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.

tour sites scouting

Thanks to all who posted comments encouraging my virtual walking tours plan. That still seems to be my most promising idea, so I looked to see what the major Philly tour websites are and what they already have.

The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation, as part of their gophila.com site, have a directory of "Itineraries and Tours" which appears to be the best collection of Philly walking tours available. They place staff-created, self-guided walking tours into the "Itineraries" category; the "Tours" category provides basic descriptions and contact information for guided ones.

The "Itineraries" section does have some interesting self-guided tours of Philly already available, though they seem to emphasize either the typical touristy stuff (Liberty Bell, art museum, etc.) or shopping/dining. One tour, "Philadelphia: Off the Beaten Path" sounded most promising, and included some good "unknown" spots such as the mosaic in the Curtis Center lobby (see photo). However, it also makes very odd choices such as having the person go from Melrose Diner (way down in South Philly) straight to the University of Pennsylvania; packing the tours with suggestions of bars and coffeeshops (as though such places are hard to find); and even suggesting that the tour-taker go bowling! I hardly think most tourists (probably from more suburban and rural areas) need to come to Philly to go bowling...

So this encourages me that I could do better than many of these tours. One site that does have better content, at least from a historical/architectural perspective, is "Seven Walking Tours of Philadelphia," posted on the Independence Hall Association's website, www.ushistory.org. Unfortunately, the site is greatly outdated in its design and its maps. But it does craft some densely packed tours of Center City neighborhoods like Washington Square (see photo), Society Hill, Rittenhouse Square, and Old City north of Market, in which even I--as interested as I am in the city's history and historic neighborhoods--found much that I did not know. The site does not venture beyond Center City, however, except into Fairmount Park.

The other most notable tour site, if only for its marketing, is "The Constitutional Walking Tour of Philadelphia." This tour--available either guided or self-guided--is advertised heavily and is the first site that pops up on Google when doing a search for Philadelphia walking tours. The tour of the historic district isn't bad, but makes a few odd choices as to what to include and not include (William Penn's home site of Welcome Park--see photo--is out-of-luck, but the "Lights of Liberty" gift shop is apparently a must-see) and, of course, only includes sites within four blocks of the Liberty Bell...

Earlier today I thought of another subject I like and which might make a fun site--holidays, especially the minor ones, and the history/culture of them in the United States--but I think I'll most likely stick with the tour ideas. Next I suppose I'll think about possible areas/routes for the tours and try to pick a handful for the site.

time and topics

I realized after reading other blogs that Facebook was a rather dull website choice; I should've substituted www.baseballreference.net, which is kind of like IMDb for fans of baseball history or statistics.

I suppose in this post I will note a few external challenges likely to intrude on my website design, as well as ponder a few interests that might be usable for my topic.

Along with my job and INFO 652, I'm also taking one other Drexel course this term--INFO 651: Academic Library Service--and am also finishing up "Intro to Archives and Manuscripts," a course offered through Temple but taught at the American Philosophical Society (at 5th and Chestnut). This latter course is likely to interfere most in terms of time--I have a 15-page paper and an oral report due by the end of the month, and have done little for either yet--while my job introduces some interesting decisions with regard to topic. I would like to do something history-related, and at work I would have access to some fun historical images, but I think that using them for a public website would require jumping through several unnecessary hoops (my supervisor, our communications folks, our legal department, etc.)...so I will likely NOT be creating any sites relating to the history of the insurance industry. Everyone can be thankful.

But what, then? I love quirky cultural history topics like comic strips, movies, and baseball, but the first two of those subjects have messy copyright issues with using any images, and I think most baseball history topics have already been done well enough elsewhere.

I also love history relating to Philadelphia, which I just moved to last March but have long wanted to live in. Not being a long-time resident, I hesitate to consider myself knowledgeable enough for a useful website, but I do a lot of wandering around the city and take quite a few scenic photos so at least I would have plenty of free images. Perhaps some virtual walking tours, or a virtual exhibit of some sort? Those have been done too, but maybe I can come up with unique themes. We'll see.

"First post" (introduction)

I'm Shaun; I'm in my third term in the Library and Information Science (MSLIS) program at Drexel. I work part-time as an archives assistant for an insurance company in Old City Philadelphia, at 5th and Walnut. I work with their historical records. The company itself isn't very old (founded 1985), but it has acquired companies that are much older...including one that was founded in Old City in 1792! So most of the archives are from that company, and includes some fun material.

My career plans are to continue working in public history in a more professional-level library- or archives-related job. A museum library or archives would be ideal, but an academic or historical society setting would work well also. Of course, if my current job would become full-time I could stay there for a while too...I do love working a block from Independence Hall.

Three sites I often visit:
www.philly.com for Philadelphia news, events, and sports
www.facebook.com to read updates on folks who span my life from 5th grade to the present
www.imdb.com to read movie reviews and summaries from people other than critics, or to do research on movie history for fun (such as, "I wonder what my favorite movie is from 1947?")