Maureen & Jimmy
Walking Tour of Philadelphia
Part I: The Preamble
Happy October! In celebration of the wedding of Maureen and Jimmy, and together with my 86 year old father Hank, I am thrilled to have the opportunity to welcome our out of town guest and re-acquaint the locals by celebrating what we think is the greatest city in the country. On the day before the wedding, Friday October 22 I invite anyone interested to join us on a walking tour of Historic Philadelphia. There is so much great history in our city. Many of the best spots are photo ops from the street, but we will also take the time to visit some of my favorites (Covid permitting, many NPS require masks). We will meet at City Hall at Noon. Places we will see will include Philadelphia City Hall, the Reading Terminal Market, the former Reading Terminal (now Pennsylvania Convention Center) as we walk about a mile from “Center City” to the Historic area. This is the pre-tour (because why not!) and will involve walking about one mile down Market Street from City Hall to…Independence Hall.
Part II: The History
It is here where we will start the Historic Part of Tour with a tour of Independence Hall, where you will see the “signing room” of the declaration of Independence. (This is an advanced Reservation Ticketed Event, so I will need number and we will be limited here to 18 guests. We will have a specific time (likely 1:30, and need to meet 30 minutes earlier. Lots of 9/11 induced security! From there we will see the Liberty Bell (Photo op!), the Visitors Center (great colonial movie) and walk by the Constitution Center. We won’t take the time to tour this as this spot alone is 2-3 hours. (I do recommend it!). We will leave there and see Ben Franklin’s Grave on our way to the Betsy Ross House, which we will tour. We will leave there and walk by Old Christ Church. On this part of our tour we will walk through Elfreths Alley which dates back to 1703. We will walk past the American Revolutionary War Museum (another no time to visit, but recommended stop).
Part III: The Beer
We will end the Historic Walking Tour back at Independence Hall, where we will take a seat and enjoy a Philly adult beverage at my favorite Beer Garden, Independence Beer Garden, which overlooks Independence Hall! I look forward to welcoming you all for the big day on Saturday. If you want to start with us at City Hall meet there at Noon. If you prefer to skip that first hour (and walk about a mile less) meet at Independence Hall at 1PM. The tour will last from 1-4PM, and we will enjoy the Beer Garden from 4-6. I’ve heard rumors the Bride and Groom (to be) may meet us for a drink!