Here are some pictures of basic downtown Philadelphia. Not the historical locations from a few hundred years ago, just the other stuff.
005-DSC_5082.jpg
When I first read "With malice towards..." I thought that that was a lot of effort to make a list...(more)
007g-DSC_5196.jpg
A statue from the 1980s called Signer, though the pose is kind of weird, as if he's looking through...(more)
Kind of at the heart of the historic part of Philadephia. Independence Hall is where the Continental Congress met, and where the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, and Constitution were created.
008aa-DSC_5088.jpg
Stephanie goes through the rigorous security procedure, which involves turning around in a circle. ...(more)
016-DSC_5112.jpg
The chair that George Washington used. It is the only object in the room that dates back to the...(more)
021-DSC_5122.jpg
A sign describing the 3 documents below them. Note that these are original documents. However,...(more)
025-DSC_5134.jpg
A statue of John Barry outside of Independence Hall, regarded as "the father of the American Navy"...(more)
Washington Park was part of the 5 parks William Penn had planned for the city. It had a long history, including being a mass burial grave for soldiers during the War of Independence. It has gone through rennovations and the like. It's about the size of a city block and has various plaques around describing its history.
027-DSC_5146.jpg
A memorial with a statue of Washington, commemorating all those who had died in unmarked graves in...(more)
The Liberty Bell is an iconic symbol of the United States of America and more broadly freedom. It was a big-ass bell that cracked when tested as a model, cracked when used for real, was fixed, and then cracked when used again, and eventually retired. It toured around the US in the early 1900s, and eventually was retired. It could be a symbol of the struggle of freedom, or never giving up. But it kind of feels more like a Russian sort of invention. Something that was broken from the start and never worked, yet was pressed forward ignoring the obvious. When it broke during its brief tenure, engineers tried to fix it, but to no avail. After some time, everyone gave up and moved on, but it was hailed as a great success and used as a symbol of the spirit and success of the nation, even though it kind of represents the exactly opposite. Eventually, with a sigh, the population accepts that a broken bell is the symbol of the power of the US and of freedom, and people use it in a non-ironic sense (probably even getting offended by this tongue-in-cheek description). Nevertheless, it is still kind of neat to see, given all its history and that, one way or another, it is an iconic symbol of freedom. Hell, there are pictures of the Dalai Lama and Nelson Mandela next to it, so it's got its credentials worldwide.
028-DSC_5147.jpg
The building housing the Liberty Bell is relatively new, and is right across the street from...(more)
032-DSC_5155.jpg
Close up of the top inscription on it. Amusingly, one of the descriptions said more or less that...(more)
033-DSC_5156.jpg
There were a lot of other people around the bell, so most of my shots were close-up to limit...(more)
As we headed towards the waterfront, we saw another little park area. This one was dedicated to Irish immigrants. We wandered around, read some of the plaques, and looked at the momument. Next to it was a smaller ("wee") area dedicated towards Scottish immigrants. Guess they have to keep up with each other.
It's interesting how the two cast their history. According to the Irish monument, the Irish came because of "the hunger" not "the potato famine of 1847". It makes them seem more like blood-thirsty vampires or something. They suffered all forms of tragedy, many died at home, en route, and after arriving, living in poverty, overcoming obstacles to thrive in this new country. According to the Scottish monument, the Scottish saw an opportunity and emmigrated. Because of their general high level of education (high literacy rate), they were able to get good jobs in engineering and the like and helped the US in the growing industralization. Oh, and the guys kept wearing their skir-, er, I mean kilts. Very different perspectives.
038-DSC_5166.jpg
The front of the Irish monument, showing them boarding a boat, or possibly disembarking from one. ...(more)
039-DSC_5167.jpg
This side of the monument shows the difficulties of the trip, or possibly the problems of the...(more)
040-DSC_5168.jpg
From here we see the death and deprivation in Ireland during the famine. No, not that. It was...(more)
042-DSC_5172.jpg
The front of the Scottish monument, showing a family of new immigrants, proudly facing the...(more)
043-DSC_5174.jpg
Looking at the Irish section from the Scottish section. The Benjamin Franklin bridge is visible in...(more)
We wandered to Penn's Landing, an area right next to the Delaware River, that separates Philadephia, PA from Camden, NY. They have concerts there, and such. While we were there, there wasn't a lot going on, and mostly I wanted to get some pictures by the water.
044-DSC_5177.jpg
Looking across the Delaware to the Battleship New Jersey, a retired WWII-era battleship that is...(more)
046-DSC_5185.jpg
Frank looks wistfully across the water. I had to wait about 10 minutes for a couple of people who...(more)
