The Super Bell

I was talking to a friend and we got onto the topic of local tourist traps. We've lived in the same area all of our lives but still not seen the local sites that people MUST see. So we made a day of it, today.

Eastern State Penitentiary

Built in 1829, Eastern State Penitentiary is the first prison built in the United States and the prison that became the model for all prisons afterward. It revolutionized the penal system. For a year, it housed Al Capone. There were also several escapes although only one person evaded recapture. It was closed in 1971 and fallen into disrepair so it has the whole "rotting concrete and rusted iron bar / haunted mansion" thing going on.

Now, this is not my kind of thing. It was a compromise because the other guy wanted to see it. But I will say that I was pleasantly surprised how interesting it was. It was much more historical and educational and much less about general creepiness than I was expecting. It turns out it isn't a horror show, it was actually quite a revolutionary and enlightened way of treating criminals.

Here's the downside: it's 20 degrees out, the tour is an hour long and the prison isn't heated. Yikes.

Independence Hall

Independence Hall should need no introduction. It's the home of the Continental Congress, it's where the Declaration of Independence was signed, it's where the United States Constitution was ratified.

Now this is my kind of place. It speaks for itself. I love this stuff. The tour only lasted 20-30 minutes but about 15 minutes in, I saw people pulling out the cell phones to check facebook. That bothered me. If you don't want to be here, don't be.

The Liberty Bell

The Liberty Bell (according to legend but not actually) rang out and cracked when the Declaration of Independence was approved.

I'm kind of torn on the bell (much like the bell itself). It's a tremendous and iconic symbol but it's only a symbol. Seeing the bell is just seeing a bell. Still, it's the kind of thing I can cross off the list.

Here's the interesting thing about the bell that never occurred to me until today. The bell was cast to have Leviticus 25:10 written on it: "Proclaim LIBERTY throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof." That's where the name comes from, what's so interesting about that? The interesting thing is that it was cast in 1751 - way before the colonies had any thought about declaring independence. So why was it ordered to have that verse? No one knows. Not bad, huh?

Miscellaneous

In the same area as Independence Hall is Congress Hall. Congress Hall is the site of the first Congress. On the first floor is where the original House of Representatives met. The second floor was the first Senate.

Close by is the birthplace of Edgar Allen Poe. We skipped that. Also not far away is the Betsy Ross house. We skipped that too. We did drive past the birthplace of Larry Fine (of Three Stooges fame).

The day ended with a trip for cheesesteaks from Pat's and Geno's. Buying a cheesesteak from one of these places is something everyone's supposed to do. It's not just hype that the cheesesteak was invented at Pat's (there is a sign) but it's hype that they're better than other places. If you ask me, they're about the same.

The Super Bowl

The day of this trip happened to coincide with the day of the Super Bowl. I thought that might play to our advantage and perhaps there would be no lines or waiting. I was incorrect. It should have been obvious that the set of people who are interested in the Super Bowl does not intersect much with the set of people who are tourists. It wasn't terrible though.