Philadelphia at Last

Attending the 2016 SLA conference was a very good experience for sure.  But what made my recent trip to Philadelphia even more special was the fact that it fulfilled one of my greatest longings in life:  About the time I was in middle school, I became intensely interested in the American Revolution, the story of how the United States came into existence as a nation.  Since that time, I eagerly desired to go to Philadelphia, the city that played an enormously important role in the forming of this nation, and most especially to stand in Independence Hall, one of the important places in the narrative of this country's birth.

Yet a trip to Philadelphia remained elusive for some time after my initial desires formed.  When I saw that SLA was having its 2016 annual conference in Philadelphia, I started keeping an eye out to make plans to go there, knowing this could finally be my opportunity.  And then, come May, the details fell into place.  I was able to serve as a volunteer at the conference, and was able to stay at the apartment of my Valparaiso University (ValpU) friends Ian and Lindsey, who live there.  And so my long wait finally came to an end on Friday, June 10, 2016, when I arrived in Philadelphia.

As a nice touch to that day, I awoke to the sun rising over the Appalachian highlands of western Pennsylvania as the Amtrak Capitol Limited Train neared Pittsburgh, with great views of the city and the rivers as we pulled in to the station.

Upon arriving in Washington, DC, the terminus for the route, I grabbed a quick lunch, then made my way to board a regional train that would take me north to Philadelphia along the Northeast Corridor.  And it sure whisked me along, traveling at nearly 125 mph, the fastest I've ever traveled on land in my life, and I could feel the faster speed.

While on my way, we passed through Delaware, and when the train stopped at Wilmington around 4:37 PM EDT, I decided to take a few steps onto the platform so I could at least say I had set foot in Delaware for the first time in my life.

About 20 minutes later, the train pulled into the 30th Street Station, and I delightedly set foot in Philadelphia.  Then I headed to my friends' apartment in the north side neighborhood of Mount Airy via SEPTA transportation.  The bus ride up there from downtown gave me a feel for the other Philadelphia neighborhoods.  I also caught sight of this mural with Pope Francis (he appears just to the left of the center of the photo):

SEPTA worked quite well getting me around, especially from my friends' apartment to the City Center.  And I was able to get around easily enough for all my sightseeing downtown by walking everywhere.

The next morning, I got some splendid views of Philadelphia as Ian kindly took me to the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

I spent most of the time from 6:30 AM to 5:00 PM in the Arch Street Sky Bridge (see picture below) helping at the registration desk.

When it was time for my lunch break, I went to the Reading Terminal Market, in part because Ian highly recommended it, and I was very impressed with the array of eateries and merchandise there.  I got myself a sandwich from The Original Turkey (see picture below), which specializes in meals with hand-carved turkey.

Come 5 PM, my time helping out had concluded, and I felt it was the right moment to head over to Independence Hall for a tour, to get started with my formal sightseeing by visiting the one place I most wanted to see in Philadelphia.  At shortly after 6 PM, I walked inside through the door on the south side of the building (see picture below).  What an amazing feeling it was--oh, what a rush I felt!

The 15-minute tour, the express version given in the extended evening hours during the summer months, took us inside the court chamber (see the first picture immediately below), and then the Assembly Room (see the second picture below).

It was amazing to be in the place, in the very room, where independence was declared by the Continental Congress, and the US Constitution was created.  The tour guide framed the events that unfolded in this building by speaking to how they set into motion a drive toward full realization of freedom, a movement which we're still part of today.  After my tour, I went to see the Liberty Bell (see picture directly below).

And then I walked east to Penn's Landing (see picture below) to enjoy the evening and the views while having my dinner.

The next day, Sunday, after attending the opening session, I went to Carpenters' Hall (see picture right below), which was owned by the Philadelphia Carpenter's Company.

They rented out space for group meetings, and that's where the First Continental Congress met in 1774.  The walls that created separate rooms are no longer there, but the tour guide pointed out the area of the space that would have been the room where the Congress would have met (see picture right below).

Then, I walked over to Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial.

Here I am inside Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial, in the entrance area.

He was a Polish nobleman who aided the Americans in the Revolution against the British, using his engineering expertise to help build earthworks and the like.  In the 1790's, he came back to the United States, seeking money from Congress, and rented an apartment in the house that is now part of this memorial (see picture below).

It was interesting to learn more about his story, having familiarity with Casimir Pulaski, and living in Chicagoland, which has the largest population of Polish people outside Poland.  It was also interesting to visit this place, which is the smallest National Park Service (NPS) site in the country, at 1/50 of an acre.

Here's a view of the exterior of Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial.

On my way back to Independence Square, I stopped inside the National Liberty Museum, which had various pieces of artwork that speak to what liberty is all about, and our quest to realize it more fully.  An introductory video talked about various people's efforts to enhancing liberty in society, including a musical band of people with disabilities, the March at Selma, and a young person's effort to grow fresh garden foods for charity kitchens.  I also took a look at an exhibit of Native American-related artifacts in the American Philosophical Society Museum.

I then went to tour Congress Hall, where the US Congress met when Philadelphia was the temporary United States capital in the 1790's.

We saw the House chamber, the Senate chamber, and the committee rooms.

Here is the House of Representatives Chamber, with the Speaker's Chair on the raised platform, which is an original piece of furniture.

The Senate Chamber on the upper floor

One of the committee rooms, on the upper floor

By the way, notice the red ribbon on that stack of papers on the desk in the picture above?  Official government papers were bound with red ribbons like this, which gave rise to the expression "red tape".

After the evening reception at the conference, I went to Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, which is an absolutely spectacular building.  It is right by Benjamin Franklin Parkway, where a throng of a million people gathered for the Concluding Mass of the World Meeting of Families celebrated by Pope Francis back in September 2015.

The outside of the Cathedral

The inside of the Cathedral

The following day, Monday, I stopped by some other parishes, including St. John the Evangelist, a parish founded back in the 1830's, and includes St. Katharine Drexel among its many parishioners, which was meaningful for me having spent time at St. Augustine, a mission she founded for Native Americans in Nebraska--she has a shrine the Cathedral, by the way.

St. John the Evangelist Parish

I also went to see Old St. Joseph's, the oldest Roman Catholic parish in Philadelphia, founded by Jesuits in the 1730's.

Inside Old St. Joseph's

Because of the establishment of religious tolerance in Pennsylvania by William Penn decades before, for many years, this was one of the only places in America where Mass could be publicly celebrated, speaking to the unique nature of Philadelphia as a place where people of different faith traditions could practice freely.  It speaks to a foundation that set in motion the experience I have of Roman Catholicism this day.

For lunch on Monday, I thought it proper to enjoy a unique Philadelphia culinary experience:  While I don't like cheese or onions that much, I figured while Philadelphia I should at least eat some steak meat.  So I stopped at Paulie's in downtown for a steak sandwich, and it was pretty tasty (see my sandwich in the photo below).

Then I went to the Declaration House, a reconstruction of where Thomas Jefferson rented two rooms, and where he drafted the Declaration of Independence.  (Interestingly, back in 1776, this house was actually considered to be in suburban Philadelphia, right outside the city limits.)

Here's the bedroom.

This is the room where Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence.

Here's a view of the exterior of the Declaration House.

Then I went to see the displays of historic documents in the Great Essentials Exhibit in the West Wing of Independence Hall, along with the inkwell that was likely used for the signings:

While strolling through Independence Square, I stopped for a chat (and a portrait) with Benjamin Franklin.

While conversing, I learned that he did not write, "A penny saved is a penny earned", but actually wrote, "A penny saved is a twopence dear".  (He then quipped that if he wrote it in 21st-Century terms, he would have said, "A penny saved is a government oversight.")

I also stopped inside the Old City Hall building, where the US Supreme Court met when Philadelphia was the US capital (see picture below).  The high-backed seat in the center is original, though it's unknown which justice sat in it.

And then I went to Washington Square to see the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier of the American Revolution (see picture below).

On Tuesday, my final full day in Philadelphia, I went to Betsy Ross's house for a Flag Day Ceremony.

Present were Betsy (in the middle of the picture above), artist Charles Wilson Peale (on the left), and a representative of the mayor's office (on the right), who read an official proclamation.

I then went to take a quick look at Elfreth's Alley (see picture below), the oldest continously-occupied residential street in America, which Ian recommended I go see.

Then I headed over to Independence Hall, for another ceremony for Flag Day, and Army Day, too.  A parade of soldiers with historic and modern dress marched across Independence Mall (see picture below).  (The Continental Congress, meeting at the Pennsylvania State House, created the Continental Army on June 14, 1775.)

It was incredible to be at this ceremony, with the flag raised high and proud (see picture below), on the day and at the place where the Continental Congress made the flag resolution back in 1777, and 100 years after President Wilson proclaimed June 14 as Flag Day.

Among the speakers was Cynthia MacLeod, Superintendent of Independence National Historical Park (see picture below).

The Master of Ceremonies was Vai Sikahema (see picture below), a former Philadelphia Eagles player who is now an on-air personality for NBC 10 Philadelphia.  He spoke about growing up in the Pacific island nation of Tonga, where his mother instilled in him a respect for the US flag from experiences she had during World War II.

Franklin Lane, the Secretary of the Interior in the Wilson administration, was there, too, who gave a speech that gave us opportunity to think about what we make of our flag's meaning in the ways we live out liberty (see picture below).

(He was Secretary at the time the National Park Service was created, and it was fitting to have this present in the midst of the NPS's Centennial Year.)

Heading out, I stopped by the President's House exhibit, which has an excavation of the home where George Washington and John Adams lived when Philadelphia was the US capital in the 1790's.  Included are exhibits on the life of George Washington's slaves there.

Here's the excavation at the President's House exhibit.

Here's the President's House exhibit.

There was more opportunity to think about the meaning of liberty when I went for a visit to the National Constitution Center (see picture below), which had reduced admission for the occasion of Flag Day.

I started in the Sidney Kimmel Theater with a special presentation, "Freedom Rising", on the history of the Constitution from its creation and forward throughout American history.  Then I went to "The Story of We the People" exhibit gallery, where visitors learn more about the workings and implications of the Constitution.  Another exhibit gallery had statues of all the signers of the Constitution, and the three dissenters (see picture below).

After the closing session, I met up with Lindsey near her workplace, and went back to the apartment with her, getting some great views while driving through the west side of Philadelphia.  Then, we walked through the neighborhood of Mount Airy to have a soul food dinner at Chef Ken's, and then made a stop at the Trolley Car Ice Cream Shoppe, before meandering through the neighborhood back to their apartment.

Ian took this picture of me while enjoying some peach ice cream on a pretzel cone, with the Trolley Car in the background.

As a fitting end to my stay in Philadelphia, I took in some great views of the city's nature areas and skyline the following morning on Wednesday as Ian took me to the Megabus stop at the 30th Street Station.  While on the bus, we passed through southeast Pennsylvania and Delaware, before a stop in Baltimore, and then went from I-95 to the Baltimore-Washington Parkway and soon entered Washington, DC.  How fitting to visit the current US capital after spending time in the city that was the temporary capital right before it.

I had a few hours before my train to Chicago, so I did some sightseeing.  I visited the National Archives, to see the Charters of Freedom, as I felt it fitting to view the original documents after having visited the place where they were created.  I stayed around to look at some of the exhibits before attending a lecture on the book First Dads, by author Josh Kendall, which focuses on what the presidents were like as fathers to their children.  It provided a different and interesting new perspective on the presidents, and it was interesting to see the range of personalities they displayed.  (If you have an hour to spare, you can view the lecture here.  The Q&A starts around the 50-minute mark, and you can hear me ask a question.)

Then I went to see the Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial, strolling along part of the National Mall to the Tidal Basin.  I had been wanting to see it for some time, and made a point to use this layover visit to do so.  It was made more meaningful after having visited his birth home in Atlanta.  The monument had a straightforward design, that of Dr. King emerging in the stone of hope out of the mountain of despair, based on one of his quotations.

The monument included a few more of Dr. King's quotations.

I then made my way to the Department of the Interior building to see the museum there.  It had one exhibit gallery, which focused on NPS references in pop culture, including the Brady family's visit to the Grand Canyon, and former Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore Superintendent Constantine (Costa) Dillon's work in filmmaking--I actually attended a lecture he gave at ValpU a few years ago.

I finished up my sightseeing with a brief stop to the Library of Congress to get a picture, now that I am officially MLIS-degreed.  (To get there, I rode on the Metro Silver Line--see below for a picture of the inside of the train car.)

With that, I headed to Union Station, where I boarded the Capitol Limited train, and enjoyed the lovely scenes of mountain highlands that evening and then farm fields of the Midwest the next morning as we made our way westward.

Wisps of clouds in the Appalachian highlands around the panhandle of West Virginia/western Maryland

Sunrise over fields, somewhere around northwest Ohio, on the airline stretch of track west of Toledo

Posing by a poster for the Capitol Limited onboard, in the Sightseer/Lounge Car

What a marvelous time I had on this trip, as I finally had the chance to visit Philadelphia, and most especially Independence Hall.  There's something so special about seeing the places that are at the heart of the story of the founding of the United States, because they add a sense of reality to those stories.  How this country was founded speaks so much to what this country is like today, and seeing the setting added an extra bit of depth to my sense of what this grand country is all about.  To continue appreciating the history that makes us who we are means that it is important to preserve our history, and it was fitting to celebrate the stewardship role the National Park Service plays in preserving sites of historical and natural significance by visiting the sites I did in Philadelphia (and Washington, DC) in the Centennial Year of the NPS.

I also learned about relationships, what it means to engage in meaningful relationship with others, not simply to use them to further my own purposes, but to deeply value and appreciate them.  I can't thank Ian and Lindsey enough for hosting me these several days, and helping make it possible for me to have this experience of a lifetime.  It was also nice to have all those passing encounters with various people, especially those who were kind enough to take pictures of me at various places, and I credit them for most of the pictures in this post in which I appear.  (As an aside, all pictures in this blog post in which I don't appear were taken by me.)  And it was great seeing so many school groups out in both Philadelphia and Washington, DC, to see young people getting the opportunity to experience the important sites in these significant cities.

I have also reaffirmed my sense of how I approach travel.  When talking about my trip to Philadelphia with others, the vast majority of people expressed surprise that rather than take a 2-hour plane ride, I traveled there by train, spending nearly 21 hours total enroute.  I sense that the train is not on the forefront of most people's minds when traveling long-distance, but I really enjoy it, because it's a great way to slow down and savor the country I'm passing through, as there's always some great scenery to behold out the window, as we pass the miles between stations.  Somehow, the surprise people expressed served as an affirmation of the uniqueness of who I am, that I can appreciate the special nature of train travel, and not be so pressed by the need to speed across the country.

Here I am, enjoying the train ride in the Sightseer/Lounge car on the way back to Chicago.

This trip was also my first outside of the Midwest in over two years, as I had work and then school obligations.  With graduate school done, and in a period of time awaiting the launch of my full-fledged career, it was wonderful to have this chance to travel, to fulfill long-held dreams, to reinvigorate my sense of what this country is all about, and to experience the life-changing effects of travel:  Indeed, during this trip, I felt the pulse of a nation born at Philadelphia of a burning desire for liberty, which has become the extraordinary country that it is today.

Here I am standing by the Liberty Bell with Independence Hall in the background.

Here I am in the Assembly Room of Independence Hall.

Here I am on Independence Mall, with Independence Hall behind me.