JasonParis
Moderator
As continued from Phabulous Philly (Part II)...
A distant shot of Cesar Pelli's Cira Centre.
A typical Philly streetscape. This is along 21st Street.
This was the neighbourhood where much of The Sixth Sense (a.k.a. "I see dead people") was shot. It's located in south-west Philly.
Another shot from south-west Philly.
We then took a walk through Philadelphia's famed "Society Hill" neighbourhood which contains the largest concentration of original 18th and early 19th-century architecture of any place in the U.S. Much like Beacon Hill in Boston, Society Hill is noted for its cobblestone streets bordered by brick rowhouses.
Society Hill (cont.)
Not all buildings in Society Hill are originals, but any newer building generally fits the scale of the neighbourhood, if not the style.
Much like many other inner city American neighbourhoods, Society Hill suffered from crime and depopulation in the 1960s through the 1980s. Some of the "pioneers" who came back into the neighbourhood are noted for their homes with minimal windows (especially on the first floor) and a design that emphasized safety over style.
Society Hill (cont.)...
Ironically, Society Hill is also home to a triplet of I.M. Pei skyscrapers known as the "Society Hill Towers."
Today, the towers are luxury condominiums and create quite the juxtaposition with the rest of Society Hill, but a juxtaposition that I'd argue works fairly well.
Society Hill is also one of those neighbourhoods where it is almost impossible to even burp without a resident's association on your case.
Society Hill (cont.)...
Another example of some "pioneer homes" in the Society Hill neighbourhood.
We mostly skipped the Independence Mall area this particular day, but we did take a quick walk around the back of Independence Hall and found the Second Bank of the United States.
We then walked over to the "Old City" neighbourhood of Philadelphia which is a quickly gentrifying nabe located near the Deleware River.
Old City (cont.)...
The Benjamin Franklin Bridge (to Camden, NJ) from Philly's Old City neighbourhood.
Philly's Old City neighbourhood is also home to Elfreth's Alley which is a National Historic Monument as it is the oldest continually inhabited residential street in the USA.
Elfreth's Alley (cont.)...
Elfreth's Alley ends at this big wall which on the other side sits Interstate 95. Sadly, I-95 pretty much completely blocks the entire Old City from the Delaware riverfront.
Half of this building in the Old City is original while the other half is a rebuild. Can you tell which is which?
A quick picture from the Gaybourhood. Most of the major east-west streets in Philly are named after trees.
Then it was off to the top floor balcony of the Park Hyatt for some drinks high atop Philly.
From the top of Philly's Park Hyatt (cont.)...
The view from the top of Philly's Park Hyatt, including the Liberty Place Buildings (left) and the new Residences of the Ritz-Carlton (right).
From the top of Philly's Park Hyatt (cont.)
The Park Hyatt from the ground.
About a dozen building's along the downtown portion of Broad Street have a permanent lighting installation adorning them nightly.
Underneath Broad Street is Philadelphia's Transit Concourse which is basically a big underground walkway that connects a variety of subway stations and office buildings.
It could be thought of as a mini-Toronto-type PATH system, but without the retail component.
Philadelphia's Transit Concourse (cont.)...
Philadelphia is famous for its murals and here is one from the Gaybourhood.
On our third day we headed about an hour up the Deleware River to New Hope, PA.
While New Hope has sort of slid into a state of being overly touristy, it has a recent history of being a liberal and arts-minded town that has always been popular with the LGBT communities.
New Hope, PA (cont.)...
We quickly crossed the Delaware River into Lambertville, NJ in order to get around a traffic jam before heading back into PA.
Lambertville, NJ
Finally, we arrived at our destination - The Nevermore Inn. The Inn is an old 1960s motel just outside of New Hope, PA whose clientele is mostly gay men. On weekends in the summer, they have popular gay pool parties such as this one.
Nevermore Inn in New Hope, PA (cont.)...
To be continued in Phabulous Philly (Part IV) - Coming soon!
A distant shot of Cesar Pelli's Cira Centre.
A typical Philly streetscape. This is along 21st Street.
This was the neighbourhood where much of The Sixth Sense (a.k.a. "I see dead people") was shot. It's located in south-west Philly.
Another shot from south-west Philly.
We then took a walk through Philadelphia's famed "Society Hill" neighbourhood which contains the largest concentration of original 18th and early 19th-century architecture of any place in the U.S. Much like Beacon Hill in Boston, Society Hill is noted for its cobblestone streets bordered by brick rowhouses.
Society Hill (cont.)
Not all buildings in Society Hill are originals, but any newer building generally fits the scale of the neighbourhood, if not the style.
Much like many other inner city American neighbourhoods, Society Hill suffered from crime and depopulation in the 1960s through the 1980s. Some of the "pioneers" who came back into the neighbourhood are noted for their homes with minimal windows (especially on the first floor) and a design that emphasized safety over style.
Society Hill (cont.)...
Ironically, Society Hill is also home to a triplet of I.M. Pei skyscrapers known as the "Society Hill Towers."
Today, the towers are luxury condominiums and create quite the juxtaposition with the rest of Society Hill, but a juxtaposition that I'd argue works fairly well.
Society Hill is also one of those neighbourhoods where it is almost impossible to even burp without a resident's association on your case.
Society Hill (cont.)...
Another example of some "pioneer homes" in the Society Hill neighbourhood.
We mostly skipped the Independence Mall area this particular day, but we did take a quick walk around the back of Independence Hall and found the Second Bank of the United States.
We then walked over to the "Old City" neighbourhood of Philadelphia which is a quickly gentrifying nabe located near the Deleware River.
Old City (cont.)...
The Benjamin Franklin Bridge (to Camden, NJ) from Philly's Old City neighbourhood.
Philly's Old City neighbourhood is also home to Elfreth's Alley which is a National Historic Monument as it is the oldest continually inhabited residential street in the USA.
Elfreth's Alley (cont.)...
Elfreth's Alley ends at this big wall which on the other side sits Interstate 95. Sadly, I-95 pretty much completely blocks the entire Old City from the Delaware riverfront.
Half of this building in the Old City is original while the other half is a rebuild. Can you tell which is which?
A quick picture from the Gaybourhood. Most of the major east-west streets in Philly are named after trees.
Then it was off to the top floor balcony of the Park Hyatt for some drinks high atop Philly.
From the top of Philly's Park Hyatt (cont.)...
The view from the top of Philly's Park Hyatt, including the Liberty Place Buildings (left) and the new Residences of the Ritz-Carlton (right).
From the top of Philly's Park Hyatt (cont.)
The Park Hyatt from the ground.
About a dozen building's along the downtown portion of Broad Street have a permanent lighting installation adorning them nightly.
Underneath Broad Street is Philadelphia's Transit Concourse which is basically a big underground walkway that connects a variety of subway stations and office buildings.
It could be thought of as a mini-Toronto-type PATH system, but without the retail component.
Philadelphia's Transit Concourse (cont.)...
Philadelphia is famous for its murals and here is one from the Gaybourhood.
On our third day we headed about an hour up the Deleware River to New Hope, PA.
While New Hope has sort of slid into a state of being overly touristy, it has a recent history of being a liberal and arts-minded town that has always been popular with the LGBT communities.
New Hope, PA (cont.)...
We quickly crossed the Delaware River into Lambertville, NJ in order to get around a traffic jam before heading back into PA.
Lambertville, NJ
Finally, we arrived at our destination - The Nevermore Inn. The Inn is an old 1960s motel just outside of New Hope, PA whose clientele is mostly gay men. On weekends in the summer, they have popular gay pool parties such as this one.
Nevermore Inn in New Hope, PA (cont.)...
To be continued in Phabulous Philly (Part IV) - Coming soon!