Field Trips
Below are a list of the historic sites and libraries participants will visit during their week-long workshop in Philadelphia.
HISTORIC AND CULTURAL SITES:
Atwater Kent Museum of Philadelphia: houses more than 80,000 objects related to Philadelphia and regional history, including seventeenth- to twentieth-century artifacts from the Historical Society of Pennsylvania art and artifact collection, Quaker-related items from Friends Historical Association Collection, and collections reflecting the development of Philadelphia manufacturing and industrialization. http://www.philadelphiahistory.org
Historic Christ Church: known as “The Nation's Church” because of the famous Revolutionary-era leaders who worshiped here, Christ Church was founded in 1695. It was the first parish of the Church of England (Anglican) in Pennsylvania and the birthplace of the American Episcopal Church. Its Burial Ground is the final resting place for some of our most prominent leaders including Benjamin Franklin and four other signers of the Declaration of Independence. http://www.christchurchphila.org
Eastern State Penitentiary: founded on principles of reform rather than penalization, broke sharply with the prisons of its day, abandoning corporal punishment and ill treatment. This massive new structure, opened in 1829, became one of the most expensive American buildings of its day and soon the most famous prison in the world. http://www.easternstate.org
Elfreth’s Alley: founded in 1702, is one of the oldest continuously inhabited residential streets in America. Tour includes a stop at Elfreth's Alley Museum which is located in House 126 and built in 1755 by blacksmith and Alley namesake, Jeremiah Elfreth. The Museum has been restored and furnished to its c.1790 appearance and is the only house on Elfreth's Alley that is accessible to the public. http://www.elfrethsalley.org
Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell: form the heart of the National Park Service’s Independence Park. Workshop participants will have the opportunity to visit both. For more information http://www.nps.gov/INDE/index.htm
National Constitution Center: America’s most interactive history museum, is located two blocks from the Liberty Bell on Independence Mall and is the only museum devoted to the U.S. Constitution and to understanding the interpretation and re-interpretation behind “We the People.” http://www.constitutioncenter.org
The Philadelphia Bourse House: meaning a place of exchange – was brought to Philadelphia in 1890 by George E. Bartol, a prosperous Philadelphia grain and commodities exporter. While in Europe, Bartol visited the great Bourse in Hamburg, Germany. Upon his return to the United States, Bartol called together the most influential businessmen and merchants in the city, asking them to pool their resources to construct the city’s own business center. In 1891, The Philadelphia Bourse Corporation was formed, with each member subscribing $1,000 to the project, by an issue of stock and mortgage. The Bourse motto was “buy, sell, ship via Philadelphia.
http://www.bourse-pa.com
Reading Terminal Market: opened its doors in 1892. The new Market was approximately 78,000 square feet and held nearly 800 spaces for merchants, each positioned in six foot stalls. The Market was laid out in a grid system similar to the streets of Philadelphia. http://www.readingterminalmarket.org/
Walking tour of historic Old City Philadelphia: Visits Carpenter’s Hall, Franklin Court, Franklin Printing Press and Post Office, and other historic sites.
LIBRARIES AND ARCHIVES:
Significant portions of other afternoons are reserved for archival research and writing to take advantage of three key Philadelphia archival repositories — the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, founded in 1824 and one of the oldest historical societies in the United States; the Library Company of Philadelphia, founded in 1731 by Benjamin Franklin as North America’s first subscription library; and the American Philosophical Society, founded in 1769 as the first scholarly society for scientific study in North America.
http://www.librarycompany.org
http://www.hsp.org
http://www.amphilsoc.org
