Pennsylvania, U.S.A. – Monday, July 16th & Wednesday, July 18th, 2012
"Mikveh Israel Cemetery is the oldest Jewish institution in Philadelphia and one of the oldest in the United States."
Here's the grave of Haym Solomon in the Mikveh Israel Cemetary, a notable financier of the American Revolution.
Too bad we couldn't stick around to witness the Resurrection of Haym Solomon this afternoon.
There are a number of these markers scattered throughout Philly.
"Pennsylvania Hospital was America's first hospital, founded in 1751 by Dr. Thomas Bond and Benjamin Franklin." (Why am I not surprised?)
View of the Pennsylvania Hospital exterior. When it opened it treated the poor free of charge. And people think that socialized medicine is un-American.
Statue of William Penn in front of the Pennsylvania Hospital.
Pennsylvania Hospital historical marker
SWP 1770... It's a mystery.
Another historical information sign; Philadelphia marked the beginning of America's tradition of religious tolerance.
Hebrew doorway
Kangaroo statues... why? Who knows?
This is honestly the part of the tour where it becomes impossible to keep track of everything I take a picture of. If these buildings didn't look vaguely historical I might have been messing with my camera settings when I took this shot, for all I know.
Graveyard at St. Peter's Church.
St. Peter's Church was founded in 1758, and, like a lot of things in Philadelphia, is really old. At least by American standards. George Washington was here.
Gaelic headstones
And now for something completely different... South Street!
It's like they're each competing to be the weirdest bohemian storefront on the block...
Jim's Steaks; supposedly you can get a really good Philly cheesesteak in there.
Mosaic building. This wouldn't be the last of the huge mosaics we'd see in Philadelphia either.
Zipperhead... no longer at this location, despite the zipper.
South Street Love People
Dance Philadelphia
As you can see, South Street has a thing for mosaics.
Heck and this isn't even the biggest of them...
Slightly less eclectic architecture.
More mosaic details.
Mosaics line what would otherwise be a non-descript alley. Our tour guide said she discovered this site on accident and decided to incorporate it into her tour, even though she knew nothing about who made it or where it came from.
Mosaic detail
Mosaic detail
I’ve read all of this 9 pages photo journal. Some photos look familiar to me though I’ve never been there. I love the scattered ironic humor of your writing style. I wanted to visit the city, anyway, I’ll have chance. Thanks for sharing! I love you~