Random Bits of Philly 2021

Here's some stuff that didn't make its own post from out 2021 trip to Philadelphia!

We saw the outside of the Federal Reserve Building, part of the national bank.

Federal Reserve Building

Federal Reserve sign

Chinatown has a fun arch as well as some dragons guarding a parking lot.

The arch

It's safe to leave your car here!

We went to a dim sum restaurant in Chinatown, which was met by different reactions.

Exquisite!

Where are the chicken nuggets?

Near our hotel was a small park with a large globe but not many visitors.

Checking out the world

Pigeons were the only other visitors

We saw William Penn atop City Hall looking out for us!

Penn in the distance

Also near our hotel is one of the largest farmers' markets in the country, the Reading Terminal Market. The market was one end of the Reading Railroad. The inside was busy each time we went in.

Reading Terminal Market

A busy joint

Walking around on a rainy day meant that some of the tall buildings disappear!

Skyscrapers are more like sky-erasers

There are plenty of murals around town, adding a splash of color to the area.

Flowery goodness

City Hall did not disappear in the clouds, though we never got close enough to tour or get very good pictures. 

City Hall

The Benjamin Franklin Parkway is home to lots of museums and sculptures. We saw this sagacious fellow in a park across from the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul.

Unidentified sculpture

Further on, we saw this statue of General Uriah Galusha Pennypacker. I'm sure you've heard of him. He joined the Pennsylvania Volunteers at age 16 to fight in the American Civil War. He was promoted quickly, rising to the rank of general before he was twenty-one! 

General Pennypacker

Just outside the Free Library is a memorial to Shakespeare.

Shakespeare Memorial

The Free Library of Philadelphia

A memorial to American Civil War soldiers is further up the street.

Civil War Memorial

A large oval in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art is home to an equestrian statue of George Washington. He is surrounded by four sets of statues representing the four major rivers in America: the Delaware (right next to the city!), the Mississippi, the Hudson, and the Potomac.

Washington on horseback

A weaver of nets

A catcher of fish

A nearby sign claims that Philadelphia was home to the first Thanksgiving Day parade.

History on a stick!

Just below the Philadelphia Museum of Art is a statue of Rocky, since he dramatically ran up the steps in his eponymous movie. The line to get a picture with the statue was quite long, so we just took some snaps from a distance.

Beloved local Rocky Balboa

Rocky: The Next Generation

We ascended the steps for more posing.

Rainy Rocky Routine

The museum has an impressive exterior and is one of the largest collections of art in America.

East(?) wing of the museum

Center with inoperative fountain

West (?) wing

View from the top of the steps

Near Independence Park is a cool hotel that has the sort of balconies I would hang out on if I could.

Why only three?

Wandering around the streets, we discovered this recreation of the house where Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence. You can't miss it because of their sign.

A house like in the good old days

The sign

The bas relief of a symbolic figure holding another smaller symbolic figure caught my attention.

Plus the owl on the chairback!

Since it was Memorial Day, some construction equipment had flags on display.

Yay, America!