Cleveland Institute of Art

Cleveland Art Institute

Downtown Philadelphia-Near Reading Terminal Market

I observed this public area near the famous Reading Terminal Market in downtown Philadelphia.  The columns appear to take inspiration from Roman architecture.  Notice the large sphere in the middle of the area.

City of Philadelphia downtown area is busy and lively during daylight hours.  However, after work hours, the area become quickly deserted and if you are a pedestrian, you begin to feel unsafe.  You will run into groups of people at street corners, people with unstable gait and you will probably prefer to stay away from them.  Traffic is heavy and visitors to the City of Brotherly Love will have to adapt to the local motorists not yielding to pedestrians in the crosswalk.  Visitors will also observe several younger and formally dressed men and women smoking.  Finding street parking is difficult.  Paid parking is not inexpensive.  It costs approximately $28/day for valet parking near the Philadelphia Convention Center.  Navigating through the downtown area is not difficult, the streets are parallel.  Overall, the downtown Philadelphia is impressive.

I wanted to see the Liberty Bell but could not.

Philadelphia and Pittsburgh have similar features.  Philadelphia is located at the confluence of two rivers, Pittsburgh at the confluence of three.  Both cities have impressive downtowns.

The must see Reading Terminal Market in Downtown Philadelphia

Reading Terminal Market is an enclosed public market found at 12th and Arch Streets in downtown Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Over 80 merchants offer fresh produce, meats, fish, groceries, flowers, baked goods, crafts, books, clothing, and specialty and ethnic foods. Every space in the market is rented out; three of the vendors are descendants of original market merchants. The market is open every day of the week.  The Pennsylvania Dutch merchants (a small but significant minority) generally do not operate Sunday through Tuesday.

Observed in Philadelphia

Philadelphia is famous for the Liberty Bell, so it makes sense for a hotel to hang its picture in the lobby or in the guest living area.  I wondered if they had a picture of this iconic treasure in other bathrooms of this hotel near the Philadelphia Convention Center in downtown Philadelphia.

“Proclaim Liberty throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants Thereof” (Lev. 25.10)