Bob and I thought we had blown it after visiting the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday, June 16, 2009. We had been in Philly for about three hours and had seen a boatload of sites…but wait, there was more. Unfortunately though, when we walked the short jaunt over to Independence Hall at around 3:00pm, we learned that they were all booked up for the day’s tours. This was quite the bummer. This had been the location where the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution were both drafted and signed.
Dejected, we headed over to the other areas of the Independence Mall. We stopped by and got pictures with the 1980 sculpture called The Signer. We then went through the Great Essentials display in the building next to Independence Hall. The artifacts inside included early drafts of The Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, George Washington’s copy of the final draft of the Constitution, and the Syng inkstand, which was the inkstand made by Phillip Syng for the Pennsylvania Assembly that was likely present for the signing of the DOI and Constitution.
A couple of signers…or something
At 3:30, Bob and I entered Congress Hall. This was the location where the very first United States Senate and House of Representatives both resided during the earliest days of our country. In addition, George Washington was sworn in for his second term at this location on March 4, 1793, and John Adams was sworn in for his only term here on March 4,1797.
Outside Congress Hall
Site of the inauguration of George Washington and John Adams in Congress Hall
After touring the facility for about a half-hour, Bob took off and left me there. He went over to Independence Hall to see if he could somehow wiggle us in. And wouldn’t you know it, somehow he worked his magic. I got a call on my cell phone and hightailed it over there and slid in at the end of the line of people parading into one of the most historic buildings in the country.
The park rangers inside were rather strict about not spending too much time in each room, but I was amazed that they allowed flash photography and the area wasn’t guarded like Fort Knox. We started off in the courtroom, which had served the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
But of course, the biggie was the Assembly room, where both the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution were drafted and signed, in 1776 and 1787 respectively. It was hard to realize, understand, and visualize that I was standing in the room where all of this took place.
Independence Hall – 23 years after my first visit here
The courtroom in Independence Hall
Where America came together, the Assembly Room in Independence Hall
Not far from Independence Hall was another interesting location. Presidents Washington and Adams had lived and worked inside a house in this area – Washington from 1790-97 and Adams from 1797-1800. Although it had been torn down in 1832, the city was working on a way to honor the location and had thus far merely laid an outline of where the house once stood.
Where the Presidents’ house once stood in Philadelphia
It was nearing 5:00 when Bob and I made our final stop in the Independence National Historical Park. This was a quickie and we didn’t go inside. It was the Graff House, which eventually became known as the Declaration House. Thomas Jefferson had rented a room from Jacob Graff and composed the Declaration of Independence at this location. The original house was no longer standing, but it was reconstructed in 1975.
The reconstructed Graff House, where Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence
Bob and I then retrieved our car from the Independence Historical Site parking garage, stopping at the welcome center and gift shop along the way (magnets were purchased of course). We set out to visit two final cemeteries of the days, small ones situated in downtown Philly. Finding a parking spot, especially a legal one, was another matter entirely.
The two burial grounds were within walking distance of each other, so we hurried through both, hoping that our car didn’t get towed. The first one was the Old Pine Street Presbyterian Church Cemetery. Here was buried Jared Ingersoll (1749-1822), Pennsylvania delegate to the Continental Congress and signer of the U.S. Constitution. Ingersoll ran on the Federalist ticket with DeWitt Clinton for President in 1812.
The grave of Jared Ingersoll, signer of the U.S. Constitution
Also located in the cemetery was the timeworn grave of William Hurry, who on July 4, 1776, rang the bell in Philadelphia proclaiming the Declaration of Independence.
Proclaiming the Declaration, with William Hurry
Just next door on Pine Street was the Saint Peter’s Episcopal Churchyard Cemetery. This was a biggie for me as it contained the grave of George Mifflin Dallas, the 11th Vice President of the United States. Dallas had served under President James K. Polk from 1845-49. Also born in Philadephia, he had also served as Mayor of the city from 1828-29.
The grave of George M. Dallas, 11th Vice President of the United States
At the grave of George Dallas, and apparently a hundred other people
It was after 6:00 and Bob and I were done with our history lesson for the day. It was now on to more modern marvels which fascinate the two of us, starting with a trip to Citizen’s Bank Park to watch a little baseball. It was getting rather chilly for June and I was forced to wear the only long sleeve shirt I had with me, the work shirt I had been wearing Friday. Before entering we were led astray to the supposed remains of the famous steps from the movie Rocky. They were completely wrong though and I am embarrassed that we posed atop them. No photos, thank you.
Ready to enter Citizen’s Bank Park on a chilly Philly night in June
The Philadelphia Phillies were playing the Toronto Blue Jays that night. I was amazed how much the people of Philly loved their baseball. First of all, the game was standing room only. It was nice to get rather cheap tickets, but we didn’t have seats, so consequently didn’t watch a whole lot of the game.
One of Bob’s traditions during ballpark visits is to have a hot dog, and I gleefully joined him in that ritual. We had also hoped to get some Philly cheesesteaks in the park, but the lines were so ridiculously long at Tony Luke’s (the most highly recommended of cheesesteak vendors) that we missed them once again.
Me and the ball club
Bob and I pretend that we actually have seats
Hangin’ in the Hall of Fame area with the giant scoreboard looming behind me
Night begins to fall on the other side of the park. We roam around a lot.
Two hot dogs…with their weenies
We left the game during the bottom of the fourth inning. At the time Toronto was up 2 to 1. Things didn’t look much better for the Phillies after we left. They ended up losing 8-3. Still, I had gotten my hot dog.
How often do you get to see Ben Franklin’s grave and eat a hot dog all in the same day?
So how do you follow up a ballpark hot dog? With a dinner at the Philadelphia Hard Rock Cafe of course. It was about 9:00 when we hit their front door. It had been a long day, so it was nice to just sit back and relax with a Hickory Smoked BBQ Bacon Burger. This was my sixth Hard Rock visit of the year…and of course my second of the week following Atlantic City the night before.
Outside the Hard Rock in Philadelphia
Bob and I with our crazy-good burgers
I was a bit appalled that they spelled Peter Criss’ name incorrectly on this drum head used during KISS’ 1979 Dynasty tour
A 1964 note from George Harrison on Beatles Fan Club stationary, thanking a fan for the “lovely green tie and pin” that he received
There was just a couple of pieces of unfinished business left in Philadelphia, so we couldn’t blow the town just yet. We had made excellent time that day and seen more than we thought we’d accomplish in one day, but still we needed to stay in town and wrap things up in the morning. We were aghast at most of the prices of hotels in the area, so we opted for the scariest little run down complex I had ever seen. It was reasonably priced and truthfully not all that bad (despite the paper bath mats, lack of shampoo, various stains, and the fact that they didn’t offer receipts). But we were so exhausted we didn’t really care.
We were up bright and early on Wednesday morning, June 17, departing the North American Motor Lodge at about 8:30am. We didn’t bother with breakfast and instead just headed to our first destination of the day, Laurel Hill Cemetery.
There we visited the graves of Thomas McKean and Sarah J. Hale. McKean(1734 -1817) is noted as not only a signer of the Declaration of Independence as a Delaware representative, but the 8th President of the Continental Congress. Some say that these Presidents were precursors to our modern day Presidents. Truth is, the office was completely different, but I guess you could say they were as close as we got to having a President in the years from 1774-1788.
Signer of the Declaration of Independenceand eighth President of the Continental Congress Thomas McKean
Sarah J. Hale isn’t quite a household name but visiting her grave was a bit of a bonus. She was an American writer most well-known for penning the nursery rhyme Mary Had a Little Lamb.
Bradley had a little grave
We made our way out of Philadelphia into the nearby city of Burlington, where we visited Saint Mary’s Episcopal Churchyard, the final resting place of yet another President of the Continental Congress – Elias Boudinot, the 10th President. These two visits are the first two of fourteen of the Presidents of the C.C. and will nicely punctuate my visits to the graves of all United States Presidents, should I ever complete them.
Tenth President of the Continental Congress Elias Boudinot
Bob wanted to stop by the birthplace of American author James Fenimore Cooper. This was a bit outside my realm of interest, but I obliged. I also saved the day here as he wasn’t sure exactly which house was the birthplace until I found the small plaque on one of the buildings.
Bob searches in vain for the birthplace of James Finemore Cooper, the white building next to him
This nearly wrapped up our Pennsylvania adventures for the day. It was on to New Jersey. Ah, but there was one last piece of business – to eat a Philly cheesesteak. So we didn’t actually have one in Philadelphia, but we stopped at the Golden Eagle Diner in Bristol where I enjoyed a nice big Philly Chicken Bacon Cheesesteak. It would give me the energy burst I’d need for the rest of the day back in New Jersey.
With our Philly Cheese Steaks – and two pepper shakers
The trip will continue…
Okay, so I’ve read many, many postings on your trips with Bob, and not until I just saw the picture of “two hot dogs with their weenies” did I ever think that you and Bob would be perfect to immitate Laurel and Hardy, but you’d be perfect for it.
Bev
October 15th, 2009
No pictures of the scary run down place you stayed at? Now THAT sounded interesting!
Heidi
October 20th, 2009