Discover the Philadelphia Plan which gave us two Art Deco masterpieces, the monumental 30th Street Station and Suburban Station, the first all-underground rail terminal. The tour starts at 30th Street Station and proceeds via trolley to 19th St. From the Comcast tower lobby descend into an underground concourse network to the site of The Fashion
Archives: Walking Tours
Emergence of a Modern Metropolis
Experience the transformation of Philadelphia from America’s 19th century engine of industry to a 21st century capital of business and culture. This tour explores Philadelphia’s diverse range of architectural styles and building technologies from the 1860s to the present, detailing the social, economic, and political forces that shaped the modern cityscape.
Northern Liberties
William Penn stipulated that 10,000 acres north of the original city become “liberty lands.” Once home to many of the city’s breweries, this funky, culturally diverse neighborhood today is the home of many artists and writers. See the old and the new and make note of the many little neighborhood eateries along the way.
Victorian Germantown
This city neighborhood, dating to colonial times, underwent industrial development with the arrival of the Philadelphia, Germantown & Norristown Railroad in 1832 and this development continued rapidly with the arrival of the Pennsylvania Railroad in the 1880s. Learn more about this transportation impact and see some of Philadelphia’s finest examples of Victorian eclecticism.
Camden’s Historic Cooper Street
The Cooper Street Historic District and adjacent campus of Rutgers-Camden are a living museum of American urban history. Surviving nineteenth-century residences and later commercial, institutional, and industrial buildings tell the story of Camden’s emergence as an industrial powerhouse and the impacts of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge and urban renewal. Within six blocks, highlights of this
Going Uptown
Once home to the city’s great late 19th century and early 20th century industrialists, North Philadelphia has become the center of African American intellectual life in Philadelphia. See some of the original houses and institutions including the Wagner Institute of Science, Baptist Temple, the Russell Conwell house, and much more as we explore this area’s
Art Deco
This popular early 20th century style, synonymous with the Jazz Age, has been described as having one foot in the past and one foot in the future. Its sleek appearance foretells the debut of Modernism while its use of Mayan and Aztec motifs echoes the past. Among Philadelphia’s outstanding examples featured on this walk is
Public Art, Landmarks, and Transformations along the Schuylkill
The Schuylkill River received its name because of the confluence; groves of trees, sycamores, and oaks once obscured the entrance of the Schuylkill. In Dutch, Schuylkill means “hidden stream”. This 130-mile corridor over the years has shaped the lives and landscape of Philadelphia. Learn about the changes and development along the lower Schuylkill River and
Rittenhouse Square West
Contrast the many generations of high-rise apartment building architecture on the Square – representing every decade of the 20th century – with the smaller scale of the grand houses on nearby streets while walking past some of Philadelphia’s most fashionable brownstones.
Girard Estate
Trace the history of this South Philadelphia neighborhood from its origin as a colonial farm to the early 20th century planned development of “Ideal City Homes.” See outstanding examples of Bungalow, Colonial Revival and Spanish Revival residential styles.
