I had just finished my conference and finally had some time for sightseeing in reasonably good weather. We decided to take a walk towards the historic centre of Philadelphia and get a feel and understanding of American history.
Walking along Philadelphia’s historic district reminded me of that Nicolas Cage movie “National Treasure”, where his character Benjamin Franklin Gates ran around looking for clues and being chased by the bad guys.
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No visit to Philadelphia is complete without seeing the Liberty Bell up close, so that was our next stop after the Visitor Center. After briefly queuing up for about 15 minutes and going thru security formalities, we were let in.
I finally got a shot of the Liberty Bell after waiting patiently for other fellow tourists to disperse.
The bell originally cracked when first rung after arrival in Philadelphia and was twice recast by local workmen John Pass and John Stow, whose last names appear on the bell (source: Wikipedia).
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| Liberty Bell
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We had some time to kill before our Independence Hall tour, so we went about walking around nearby parks since the weather was great. Kids and families were having fun re-enacting history.
We need to clear security (bags scanned, etc) before being allowed into the grounds of Independence Hall. So, you have to be careful not to exit the grounds before going into the building. Failing to do so will require you to clear security again.
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| Kids having fun!
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Our Independence Hall tour started by joining the long queue of visitors. We were finally let in and had the opportunity to meet up with other fellow visitors, foreign and domestic. The ranger was giving everyone a brief but important lesson about the founding fathers of America. We were given an informative tour about the Supreme Court and the Assembly Room. Imagine walking in the same building and corridors as America's founding fathers such as Washington, Adams and Jefferson once did.
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| Supreme Court
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After our visit to the Supreme Court, we were led to the Assembly Room, where the delegates from the thirteen colonies gathered and by July 4, 1776 adopted the Declaration of Independence.
The most important treasures in the Assembly Room are the chair used by George Washington during the Constitutional Convention, with its rising sun carved on its back and the silver inkstand designed by Philip Syng, used for the signing of both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. The room has been restored to its appearance at the time of the signing and the chairs, tables and writing equipment are of the period.
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| The Assembly Room
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Related pages:
Philadelphia - Final Day |
Philadelphia - At Night |
Philadelphia - Main Page
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