Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
October 2003
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We drove into Philadelphia on Monday October 13th and toured Betsy Ross' home and grave, then walked over to view the Liberty Bell, then into the Visitors Center and watched a film. We ate lunch in a nearby deli then took a trolley tour of the town which was fantastic! After the tour, we took another walking tour through the Independence Hall buildings, see where they signed the Declaration of Independence, the Supreme Court and adjoining buildings. FANTASTIC DAY!!!
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 We stopped at the Betsy Ross memorial first. |
 This is a famous painting of Betsy Ross sewing the flag. |
 This is Betsy Ross's house. |
 This meetinghouse was erected in 1804. It is used for meetings of Friends. The ground was first used for burial purposes under patent issued by William Penn in 1701.. |
 Benjamin and Deborah Franklin's grave site. |
 The Franklin's grave site from the street. |
 This is the line to see the Liberty Bell, how should I know today is Columbus Day and the place is packed. |
 After an hour wait we are inside next to the Liberty Bell. |
 All the signers of the Declaration of Independence are here at what they call "Signers Walk". We ate lunch (Philly Cheesesteak sandwich, was bad) at Willie & Duffy's cafe along the signers walk |
 Plaque for the signers of the Declaration of Independence. |
 Benjamin Franklin's plaque. |
 In the visitors center they had real pilgrims you could talk to. |
 Watch the pilgrims quilt. |
 Watch and ask questions about spinning. |
 This is the United States Mint, that closed down after 9/11. |
 Statue of George Washington in front of Independence Hall. |
 This is Elereth's Alley. An old national historic neighborhood. |
 A good shot of William Penn atop city hall, you can get a good view of the city from the small platform below him. It is also against the law to build a building in Philadelphia higher that this statue. |
 This is a close up of the architecture of City Hall. |
 this is a statue of Joan of Arc. |
 The LOVE statue was made into a postage stamp. |
We took a tour of Independence Hall. This is a real history lesson. First they took us into a room and told all about the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution. There was a picture on the wall of that signing and the tour guide pointed out and name the people signing it. Next we went into the court room and described all the paintings, jury box, and the defendant cage. The guide told us that because King George designed Independence Hall, he had to have the room balanced. If there is a door to the judges chambers on one side there has to be a fake door on the other side of the room. There is a fake window on one side of the room also that is there because there is a real window on the other side. In the room where the documents were signed we were told that the representatives from the north sat on the north side of the room and the representatives from the south sat on the south side of the room. |
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 A picture of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. |
 The Pennsylvania crest replaced the lion crest of King George III. |
 The witnesses in a court case sat on this bench. |
 The jurors sat in the jury box. This door is a fake one, the real door is on the other side of the judges bench, this one was made to balance out the room. |
 The defendant stood in a cage in the court room. Notice the Pennsylvania crest and the real door to the judges chambers. |
 The hall between the court room and the signing room. |
 Room the Declaration of Independence was signed. Notice two fire places, one on each side to keep the room balanced. |
 The representatives from the north sat on the north side of the room and The representatives from the south sat on the south side of the room.. |
 This is the actual chair that Ben Franklin sat in during the sighing of the Declaration of Independence. and George Washington sat in during the sighing of the Constitution.. |