You’ve crossed it by car or viewed it from afar; now experience this magnificent bridge from a whole new perspective! Walk from Philadelphia to Camden with our guide to learn about the history and construction of what was once the longest suspension bridge in the world. Look down on the mighty Delaware River between Pennsylvania
Archives: Walking Tours
Navy Yard
Since the closing of the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in the late 1990’s, the area has been transformed into one of the most successful redevelopment projects in the city. Today it is a thriving, mixed-use riverfront community with more than 15,000 people and 150 companies and soon to be residential apartments. Learn about the Navy Yard’s
Old City
Explore colonial Philadelphia and walk some of its original streets. See famous Elfreth’s Alley, the oldest continuously occupied street in the US, and experience the walking/mercantile city, as well as a later generation of Victorian structures. Learn how this area remained the center of Philadelphia’s commercial, retail and governmental activities until the city finally moved
Old City
Explore colonial Philadelphia and walk some of its original streets. See famous Elfreth’s Alley, the oldest continuously occupied street in the US, and experience the walking/mercantile city, as well as a later generation of Victorian structures. Learn how this area remained the center of Philadelphia’s commercial, retail and governmental activities until the city finally moved
Henry Howard Houston and West Germantown
Presented by George McNeely Henry Howard Houston, railroad executive, investor, and real estate developer, is best known in Northwest Philadelphia for the creation of the west side of Chestnut Hill, including the railway line (now known as Chestnut Hill West), Wissahickon Inn, Philadelphia Cricket Club, Saint Martin’s (Episcopal) church, and nearby houses. But he only
Railroading in Victorian Germantown- This First Suburb and the Iron Triangle
Presented by John Ingram PhD On June 6, 1832, the Philadelphia, Germantown, and Norristown Railroad began operating a 6-mile railway line between Germantown and the city below. Now part of SEPTA’s Chestnut Hill East line, it was the first railroad to operate within Philadelphia and established Germantown as America’s first railroad suburb. Germantown became a
Farmers, Merchants, and Land Speculators- The Rise of the Suburb in Northwest Philadelphia
Presented by Warren Williams This presentation will explore how “the German Township” went from an agricultural and early industrial community to one of the first urban suburbs in America in the years leading up to the Civil War. With the introduction of the railroad early in the 19th Century as an agent of change, we’ll
Ambler
Ambler was first settled by white Europeans in 1682 and was a small mill town until it was transformed into a factory town for asbestos company Keasbey and Mattison. The “asbestos king” built his own castle here. We will walk from the train station and learn who has lived in Ambler since the time of
Benjamin Franklin Parkway
This grand boulevard, named after Philadelphia’s most famous citizen, is Philadelphia’s early 20th century contribution to the City Beautiful Movement and connects the downtown to Fairmount Park, fulfilling William Penn’s vision of a “greene countrie towne.” View the grand neoclassical structures that house this city’s cultural, educational and commercial institutions and view the new home
Bankers’ Row
In the early years of the new Republic, Philadelphia was the nation’s financial capital, home to the first stock exchange (1790), the Bank of the United States, the US Mint, the first securities exchange, the first commodities exchange, and other early banking and insurance institutions. The epicenter of this activity was Chestnut Street in Old
