Famous Sites
The Art Museum

Fairmount is .named for the hill upon which the art museum stands. It borders Fairmount Park where the Schuylkill River winds its way past Boathouse Row, the Historic Fairmount Waterworks, and the Art Museum.

Eakins Oval and the statue of George Washington

Eakins Oval and the Ben Franklin Parkway that runs to City Hall

The Ben Franklin Parkway is Philly's version of Paris'
Champs Elysées
Login Circle is on the Ben Franklin Parkway
Historic Waterworks
The Fairmount Waterworks is a National Historical Site on the Schuykill River below the Art Museum. It opened in 1812 with the completion of the Engine House. Its steam-powered pumps were to send water to a reservoir to be built atop Morris Hill (Faire Mount) where the Art Museum stands today. The water would then be carried via underground wooden pipes to the Centre Square pumps where City Hall stands today. However, the steam-powered pumps had many operational problems and were replaced by water power.

The Old Mill House was completed in 1822, and sits under beautiful Greek style buildings

A mound dam was constructed along with a wheelhouse to hold the wooden wheels that would power the pumps

The city has restored the structures of this National Historical Site and the Waterworks is home to several shops and a five-star restaurant.

The Fairmount Waterworks
Fairmount Park
Fairmount Park is more than 2,000 acres, over twice the size of Central Park. The park, divided into East and West sections by the Schuylkill River, is a wealth of natural landscapes, rolling hills, gentle trails, relaxing waterfront and shaded woodlands. It is one of Philly’s most popular running and biking destinations. The paved path begins behind the Philadelphia Museum of Art and winds its way past Boathouse Row along the Schuylkill River before reaching East Falls Bridge.

Fairmount Park along the Schuykill River is a popular running and biking destination

Kelly Drive in Fairmount Park

Kelly Drive Tunnel

Kelly Drive Tunnel c1900

Mt Pleasant Mansion in Fairmount Park

St. George and the Dragon Fairmount Park

The Cowboy Fairmount Park

Lincoln Fairmount Park
The Bridges of Fairmount Park

The Girard Ave bridge & Amtrack Zoo Viaduct (background) crossing the Schuykill River in Fairmount Park

The Girard Ave bridge crossing the Schuykill River in Fairmount Park

Route 1 Twin Bridges and Philadelphia Reading Railroad bridge

The Falls Bridge

The Falls Bridge links the East & West sides of Fairmount Park over the Schuykill River

The Falls Bridge. Looks like it was built using an "Erector Set"
Boathouse Row
Boathouse Row is a historic site located on Kelly Drive along the east bank of the Schuylkill River. It consists of a row of 15 boathouses housing social and rowing clubs and their racing shells. The boathouses are all at least a century old, and some were built over 150 years ago. Boathouse #15 houses the Sedgeley Club, which operates the Turtle Rock Lighthouse. At night the boathouses are outlined in lights creating a spectacular scene along the river.

Boathouse Row

The boathouses are all at least a century old, and some were built over 150 years ago

Boathouse #15 houses the Sedgeley Club, which operates the Turtle Rock Lighthouse.

The 15 boathouses house social and rowing clubs and their racing shells

Rowers On The Schulkill River. The high-rise apartment building is at 27th Street

Boathouse Row at Night
Philadelphia
Famous Sites

Liberty Bell

Independence Hall

Philadelphia City Hall is the largest municipal building in the United States,
with over 14.5 acres of floor space

City Hall is topped with an iconic statue of William Penn. The 548-foot tower is the tallest masonry structure in the world without a steel frame

Liberty Place One and Two.
City Hall was the tallest building in Philadelphia until 1986 when the construction of One Liberty Place surpassed it, ending the informal gentlemen's agreement that had limited the height of buildings in the city to no higher than the William Penn's statue

Love Park

Sts. Peter and Paul Basilica

30th Street Station

30th Street Station
King of Prussia Mall

King of Prussia Mall

The "Plaza" at the mall

The "Court" at the mall
City Parks
Rittenhouse Park

Rittenhouse Park

For over 15 years I often ate lunch in Rittenhouse Park

The Lion in Rittenhouse Park

Spring foliage

A squirrel once stole a french fry out of my McDonalds bag

The Reflecting Pool at Rittenhouse Park

An Artist at the Reflecting Pool at Rittenhouse Park

The iconic Liberty Place Buildings as seen from Rittenhouse Park

Annual Art Show at Rittenhouse

Annual Flower Show at Rittenhouse

Rittenhouse Park In Winter

Rittenhouse Park In Winter

Rittenhouse Homes

Al Fresco Dinning at
Rougeacross the street from Rittenhouse Park

Also across the street from Rittenhouse Park
Wissahicken Park

Wissahickon Park Devils Pool

Wissahickon Creek

Historic Valley Green Inn is in Wissahickon Park
Valley Forge Park
The Waterfront
Penn's Landing

Penn's Landing is a waterfront area of Center City Philadelphia

Penn's Landing runs the length of Center City along the waterfront

There's always something fun going on at Penn's Landing
Festivals, concerts, free movies, beer gardens, roller-skating and ice-skating

WWII Submarine and the USS Olympia
Admiral Dewey's 1898 flagship at the Battle of the Manila Bay

The Moshulu and USS Olympia

The Moshulu at night. It's a fabulous restaurant

The Chart House Restaurant at Penns Landing

Overlooking the Deleware River
At The
Chart House Restaurant

The USS New Jersey
Bridges of Philadelphia
Girard Point Bridge

The I-95 double deck bridge crosses the Schuykill River

Driving the upper deck

Driving the lower deck
Ben Franklin Bridge

Ben Franklin Bridge was opened in July 1926 and is 1.8 miles in length

Ben Franklin Bridge pedestrian walkway

The PATCO high speed line runs eastbound and westbound outboard of the bridge's trusses
Ben Franklin Bridge History

Originally the bridge was to feature trolley service

Atop the two anchorages were waiting rooms for passengers with elevators to carry the riders. They were never used.

Today, the would-be waiting rooms are mini-art museums with sculptures, murals, and colored tiles that depicted different forms of transportation.

This tile featured the Flying Machine, a stagecoach from the 18th-century that could make the trip from Philadelphia to New York in only two days

Ben Franklin bridge at night
Walt Whitman Bridge

Walt Whitman Bridge opened in May 1957 and is about 2.3 miles long

Red and Green overhead lights are used to control the seven traffic lanes

To reduce accidents a "zipper barrier" controls the center traffic lane on the bridge

How the "zipper barrier" changes traffic lanes
Tacony-Palmyra Bridge

The Tacony crosses the Delaware between Tacony, PA and Palmyra, NJ

Driving the Tacony

Tacony open to river traffic
Philadelphia Sports
Cheese Steaks

What a
Cheese Steak should look like

Add ketchup or pizza sauce

Nothing beats a
Philly Cheese Steak
Football

Lincoln Financial Field

Home of the Philadelphia Eagles
Baseball

Citizens Bank Park

Home of the Philadelphia Phillies
Dad Vale Regatta

Boathouse Row and Rowers On The Schuykill River

The Schuykill is the scene of the Dad Vail Regatta,
the largest regular intercollegiate rowing event in the United States.

The regatta draws over a hundred colleges and universities from North America
and has been held annually on the Schuylkill River since 1953
Philadelphia International Bike Race
The Philadelphia International Championship was an annual bicycle race held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was described as "America's top international cycling classic, and one of the richest and most prestigious one day races outside of Europe." It was one of the longest single-day races in the U.S. at 124.0 miles.

The race starts at the Art Museum and then heads along Kelly Drive to East Falls

Kelly Drive between the Art Museum and East Falls
The iconic race got its start in 1985.

Racers climb the hill in Manayunk

The race continues through Roxborough

Finally, through Logan Circle and along the Ben Franklin Parkway
to complete the 124.0 mile loop