Now occupied by Macy’s City Center and office space, the Wanamaker Building, completed in 1911, housed Wanamaker’s Department Store. It sits on the site of the former Pennsylvania Railroad Station in which John Wanamaker placed his first department store, then known as Wanamaker’s Grand Depot. Wanamaker’s, was known for two things, other than selling an extensive selection of goods, and they were the organ and the eagle. The Wanamaker Building has had a few different owners over the years, but the organ and eagle have endured and are still there to this day. The building was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1978 as was its iconic organ in 1980.
This historical marker notes that Mother's Day was first observed in the U.S. in 1908 and was signed into law through an executive measure by President Woodrow Wilson in 1914. Anna Marie Jarvis (1864 - 1948) campaigned to establish Mother's Day as a national holiday after the passing of her own mother, Anna Reeves Jarvis. Her mother was a resident of West Virginia who had, in an earlier generation, founded a "Mother's Day Work Club" in her hometown during the Civil War. Although Mother’s Day was granted federal recognition in 1914, Anna Marie Jarvis eventually grew to regret the commercialization and secularization of the holiday, as retailers sought to profit from the special occasion, and it lost its contemplative and religious connotations. In 1933, Jarvis even petitioned President Franklin D. Roosevelt to remove Mother's Day from the federal calendar. However, she could not undo what she had helped to create; the holiday remains a part of the American culture and economy to this day. This historical marker, installed by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, describes the first observance of the holiday in the U.S. as honoring "motherhood and family life at a time of rising feminist activism." The marker also notes that an early supporter of the effort was John Wanamaker, who owned a store across the street.
Philadelphia's iconic City Hall building is the largest municipal building in the United States and took thirty years to complete. For many years, this was the tallest building in the city until the completion of One Liberty Place in 1987. This impressive building replaced a previous city hall which was located at 5th and Chesnut until 1871. With granite that is 22 feet thick in some places, no expense was spared in the building's construction which continued in phases until 1901. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as well as a national survey of the 150 most significant buildings in the United States.
A National Historic Landmark, the Masonic Temple in Philadelphia is one of the most architecturally significant Free Mason buildings in existence. The building was constructed in 1873 and attracts thousands of visitors to tour the building inspired by multiple centuries of historically significant events that have occurred here. The Temple is still in use today as the main headquarters of the Pennsylvania branch of the Masonic Great Lodge.
This historical marker acknowledges the life of the abolitionist Anna E. Dickinson (1842 - 1932), who was born in Philadelphia to a Quaker family. In addition to her commitment to ending slavery, she was a campaigner for women's rights and universal education, an advocate for labor and prison reform, and the first woman to address Congress. On the public lecture circuit, she spoke to thousands of listeners at prominent venues such as the Cooper Institute (Cooper Union) in New York City. In 1864, in the midst of the U.S. Civil War, she gave an impassioned speech to the House of Representatives and to President Abraham Lincoln, in which she voiced her support for the preservation of the Union while also pressing for equal rights for African Americans. As a white woman, Dickinson was influenced by other white abolitionists such as Lucretia Mott and William Lloyd Garrison, and by Black abolitionists such as Sojourner Truth and Frederick Douglass. She did not hesitate to defy the expectations that were placed upon her as a middle-class woman in the nineteenth century, in which she was expected to remain within the home. Instead, she confidently carried her message to the public sphere. For her deep commitment to the abolition of slavery, she was often called "Joan of Arc of the Civil War."
The venerable Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts was founded in 1805 by painter Charles Wilson Peale, sculptor William Rush and other artists and business leaders. Its current home, designed by American architects Frank Furness and George Hewitt, was completed in 1876. The building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1975. In addition to the academy’s school, it also houses its art museum that displays both historic and contemporary works from the 1760s through the present.
The Race Street Friends Meetinghouse, which was built in 1856, now, ironically, fronts Cherry Street. The site has been in continuous use by the Religious Society of Friends, or Quakers, for over 150 years. The site was converted into the Friends Meeting Center when a modern addition was built in 1975 while still maintaining the integrity of the original meetinghouse. The meetinghouse played a significant role in the social movements of both the 19th and 20th centuries, to include the abolition, women’s rights, temperance, peace and civil rights movements. And, not surprisingly to the Quakers, women, such as Lucretia Mott, Hannah Clothier Hull, Alice Paul and Jane Rushmore, who were associated with Race Street, led the way. Group tours are available by appointment and it was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1993.
"Freedom," by artist Zenos Frudakis, is a Philadelphia-based public art display housed on the side of the former GlaxoSmithKline building in Philadelphia. Completed in 2000 and dedicated on June 18, 2001, the work showcases the figure of a man in four transformative movements that represent his journey from bondage to freedom. Frudakis' sculpture was commissioned by Francesca Shaughnessy, a former psychologist with the Philadelphia School District, and was dedicated in October of the same year.
The magnificent Swann Memorial Fountain (1924) was created by Alexander Stirling Calder, as a tribute to Dr. Wilson Cary Swann, founder of the Philadelphia Fountain Society. The fountain sculpture consists of three large Native American figures symbolizing the area's major bodies of water. The young girl leaning on her side against an agitated swan represents the Wissahickon Creek, the mature woman holding the neck of a swan symbolizes the Schuylkill River, and the male figure reaching above his head to grasp his bow ‐ the Delaware River. The fountain is located at Logan Square, Benjamin Franklin Parkway at 19th Street.
The academy was previously known as the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia until 2011, when it became affiliated with Drexel University. It was founded by leading Philadelphia naturalists in 1812 and is the oldest natural science and research institution in the Western Hemisphere. It has been in continuous operation for well over 200 years and its current home, located just across the street from Logan Square, was built in 1876. It is now divided into a public natural history museum and world-class research facility.
Founded in 1824 as the Franklin Institute of the State of Pennsylvania for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts, the Franklin Institute is one of the oldest centers dedicated to science education and progress in the United States. In the Institute’s founding days, it offered classes on mechanics, engineering, and other such fields of scientific study in order to broaden people’s understanding of and engagement in the sciences. After a century of activity, the Institute became a museum in 1934 in order to expand its vision of promoting the sciences. Today, the Institute still serves that goal as a museum, reaching out to those who wish to learn through exploring exhibits, attending classes, and much more. Additionally, one may find in the museum’s rotunda the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial, which sports a 20-foot-tall marble statue of the scientist and Founding Father.
To commemorate aviators who died in World War I, sculptor Paul Manship (1885-1966) created the Aero Memorial in 1948. It features a stone pedestal with a bronze celestial sphere on top that contains intricate intertwined forms evoking the signs of the zodiac in the night sky. It is believed the night sky represents the aviators who died in the war. Manship was one of the country's foremost sculptors and was influenced by classical Roman and archaic Greek Art. He received numerous awards for his work around the world. One of his most well-known works is the Prometheus sculpture in Rockefeller Center in New York City.
Created by artist Jakob Otto Schweizer in 1934, the All Wars Memorial to Colored Soldiers and Sailors commemorates Pennsylvania's African American service members who served for the country in wartime. It is located prominently in the north end of Aviator Park next to the Logan Square traffic circle. It consists of finely detailed sculptures of African American military men who cluster about an allegorical figure representing Justice, who holds symbols of Honor and Reward. Above, American eagles surround a torch of life. The other side features four allegorical female figures representing the principles of war, liberty, peace, and plenty. First placed in West Fairmount Park, this work was moved here in 1994.
Julian Abele, an influential and acclaimed African-American architect, designed the neoclassical Parkway Central Library Building, which opened in 1927. The genesis of the library dates back to the 1890s, then known as the Free Library of Philadelphia; the first library building opened in 1895. The building is the hub of a free-library network that includes more than fifty facilities, many of which were funded by Andrew Carnegie.
The Barnes Foundation was established by Albert C. Barnes in 1922 to “promote the advancement of education and the appreciation of the fine arts and horticulture.” Originally located in Merion, Pennsylvania, the Barnes Foundation now resides in the heart of Philadelphia. The Foundation holds one of the finest collections of Post-Impressionist and early Modern paintings, with extensive works by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Paul Cézanne, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Henri Rousseau, Amedeo Modigliani, Chaim Soutine and Giorgio de Chirico, as well as American masters Charles Demuth, William Glackens, Horace Pippin and Maurice Prendergast. In addition, the Barnes houses a number of artistic works in different media, such as Old Master paintings, important examples of African sculpture and Native American ceramics, jewelry and textiles, American paintings and decorative arts and antiquities from the Mediterranean region and Asia.
Philadelphia emerged as the first city in the United States to exhibit works by Auguste Rodin when, in 1876, the young French artist sent eight sculptures to the Centennial Exposition held in Fairmount Park. However, he left without any awards, and the media paid little attention to his work, leaving Rodin disappointed with his American debut. Little did he know at the time that Philadelphia would later house one of the greatest single collections of his work outside of Paris. The Rodin Museum also exists as the legacy of movie-theatre magnate and one of the city's prominent philanthropists, Jules E. Mastbaum. He amassed an exceptional collection of Rodin's work, and then spearheaded the project that became the Rodin Museum. Open to the public in 1929, this remarkable ensemble of architecture, landscape, and sculpture, provide visitors with a unique experience featuring every phase of Rodin's work.
Located on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, directly in front of the beautiful main building of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Eakins Oval is a traffic circle surrounded by public spaces, fountains, monuments, and public art. The circle gets its name from famed Philadelphia painter Thomas Eakins (1844-1916), a realist painter, photographer, sculptor, and fine arts educator generally regarded as one of the most influential artists in American art history. Moreover, Eakins' work, taken en masse, offers an overview of Philidelphia's intellectual life during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Today, the public space hosts "The Oval," a an eight-acre seasonal pop-up park with community programming.
The 72 stone steps before the entrance of the Philadelphia Museum of Art in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania have become known as the "Rocky Steps" as a result of their appearance in the triple-Oscar-winning film Rocky and four of its sequels, Rocky II, III, V and Rocky Balboa, in which the eponymous character runs up the steps to the song "Gonna Fly Now". The statue of Philly boxer Rocky Balboa is located at the bottom of the stairs, and was created by A. Thomas Schomberg in1980. The Rocky Statue and the “Rocky Steps” are two of the most popular attractions in Philadelphia.
Joan of Arc Statue is a gilded bronze equestrian sculpture of Joan of Arc by Emmanuel Frémiet. Bought by the Fairmount Park Art Association in 1890, the monument was at first placed at the east end of the Girard Avenue Bridge. Unappreciated at that location, it was moved to its present one in 1959, after being given its gilt coat in the basement of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The sculpture represents Joan of Arc, a heroine of France and a Roman Catholic saint, astride a horse. Her proper right hand is raised and she holds up a flag in her proper right hand. In her proper left hand she holds the reins. She is crowned with a laurel wreath and clothed in armor. A sword hangs by her proper left side. The horse is walking with its front, proper left and rear, proper right hooves raised.
The Philadelphia Museum of Art is among the largest art museums in the United States. It has collections of more than 227,000 objects that include world-class holdings of European and American paintings, prints, drawings, and decorative arts. The Perelman Building opened in 2007, and houses some of the more popular collections, as well as the Museum's library, with over 200,000 books and periodicals, and 1.6 million other documents.
This bronze statue of businessman and philanthropist Stephen Girard, sculpted by J. Massey Rhind, was originally installed on the plaza outside City Hall in 1897. The work was relocated to Reyburn Plaza in 1928 and later to the Art Museum. Born in Bordeaux, France, Stephen Girard (1750-1831) came to Philadelphia in 1776 and made immense fortunes in shipping, banking and real estate that combined to make him the wealthiest American of his time.
Fairmount Water Works, dating to 1812, was declared a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1975, a National Historic Landmark in 1976, and a National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark in 1977. The Fairmount Dam, originally constructed in 1821, is no longer used for water power, but still holds the water supply for the city's Belmont and Queen Lane Pumping Stations. The restored Old Mill House and Engine House have served since 2003 as the Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center, which chronicles the 200 year history of Philadelphia's water supply and houses interactive exhibits and participatory labs on water quality. Classes for schoolchildren and public lectures are also held in the interpretive center, which doubles as the Delaware River Basin's Official Watershed Education Center and the Gateway Center for the Schuylkill River National and State Heritage Area. The Fairmount Water Works is also the repository for urban watershed research and the Philadelphia Water Department's green management solutions for the treatment of storm water. In 2006, the Water Works Restaurant and Lounge opened in the Engine House and Caretaker's House. The South Garden (originally designed by Frederick Graff in 1829) and Cliffside Path have also been restored and are open to the public.
One of the first monuments to Lincoln following his assassination in 1865, the statue depicts President Abraham Lincoln signing the Emancipation Proclamation. The city formed a commission in 1866 that raised funds for the statue, which was formally dedicated on September 22, 1871. The city moved the monument in 2001 to a location away from traffic.
Built from 1799-1801, Lemon Hill Mansion and its grounds were originally part of a 300-acre estate owned by Robert Morris. A 43-acre section, known as “The Hills,” was purchased by wealthy Philadelphia merchant, Henry Pratt, in 1799. This section included a greenhouse that contained lemon trees, and it is from those trees that Lemon Hill derived its name. The house and gardens were purchased by the city in 1844 and the house served as the home of Fiske Kimball, first director of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, from 1925-1955. It is now a historic house museum maintained by the Colonial Dames of America and the Friends of Lemon Hill.
This Tour is a Walking Tour.
Get a QR Code for this tour
This tour starts at the Wanamaker Building and Philadelphia's City Hall and includes two dozen Philadelphia landmarks within a short walk. Highlights of the tour include the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Franklin Institute, one of the first monuments dedicated to African American soldiers, the Rodin Museum, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Aeor Memorial, and Lemon Hill Mansion.
