Background on my Philadelphia City Center Walk: I was scheduled for an afternoon of meetings in one of the beautiful skyscrapers in Philadelphia’s city center. I arrived a few hours early and went for a walk through the west side of the city center, called the Parkway District. Then after my meetings and post meetings were done, I went for another walk through the east side of the city center, call the Old City District. This posting puts these two walks together into one trip report.
Parkway District.
I checked into my hotel near the convention center, then I walked west along Filbert Street, passed the City Hall, then turned onto the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and walked all the way to the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Along the way, I saw: the Masonic Temple, Arch Street United Methodist Church, Municipal Services Building, the distinctive “Your Move” gameboard style sculpture on the plaza, Benjamin Franklin Craftsman bronze statue, Government of the People sculpture, LOVE Park, Pennsylvania Railroad Suburban Station, Mellon Bank Center skyscraper, Comcast Center, Bell Atlantic Tower, Arch Street Presbyterian Church.
When I turned onto the Parkway, I saw: the Philadelphia Cathedral, Swann Memorial Fountain in Logan Square, All Wars Memorial to Colored Soldiers and Sailors, Aero Memorial in front of the Franklin Institute Science Museum, Civil War Sailors Memorial, Rodin Museum, The Washington Monument fountain and sculpture, and the famous Rocky statue at the foot of the stairs to the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
The morning was crystal clear, with beautiful lighting. The City Hall was nice, the skyscrapers looked really striking, and the Parkway was most enjoyable. The walk was a nice way to spend some time before my meetings.
Reference: Parkway Museums District
Old City District.
After all of my meetings and post meetings were done, I went back to my hotel then started my walk heading East along Arch Street. I zigzagged over to Market Street. I kept going all the way to the Penn’s Landing on the Delaware River. I then looped back heading West along Chestnut all the way back to 11th St and back to my hotel.
Along the way, I saw: the Friendship Arch in China Town, Independence Mall, National Constitution Center, Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, “George Washington” bronze statue, Lafayette Building, The Second Bank of the United States, Philadelphia Bourse, Christ Church, Battleship New Jersey, The Irish Memorial, US Custom House, First Bank of the United States, Robert N.C. Nix, Sr. Federal Building, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Building, Reading Terminal Headhouse, and many more historic sites.
The evening was really pleasant with again some really nice late afternoon lighting. Many restaurants and night spots were open and the general vibe was lively and fun. The area is really historic and it’s worth looking up the WIKI on the Old City and Independence Mall areas.
Reference: Old City District
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Tips:
My visit was done without a rental car. I took the Septa train from the PHL airport and got off at the Market East station. This station was walking distance from my hotel. The train ride was about 20 minutes. Reference: Airport Line Regional Rail Schedule
I was surprised at how wiggly my GPS tracks were for this visit. I have seen this before, especially when walking in urban canyons. The skyscrapers fooled my GPS a couple of times where the GPS track was off by as much as a city block. I fixed the location of the photos, but I left my tracks file in zig-zag mode.
Here’s a pointer to the map my hotel supplied me.
Philadelphia City Center Walk – Museum of Art to Penn’s Landing at EveryTrail