Cross Section of Philly, via 5th Street (Center City edition)

In this installment of my 5^th Street ride it’s about heart of Philadelphia, Center City.

The following map shows the three neighborhoods in this post and the bike route I took as a whole. Also the link for the dailymile route is right below. 

http://www.dailymile.com/people/Jerome9883/entries/6816980

So my last post ended right before getting to the ever eccentric South Street and crossing over into Center City. 

Once over South Street I entered Society Hill, a very historic and bougie neighborhood. According to the Wikipedia page, the area is home to the largest concentration of 18^th and 19^th century ‘architecture’ of any place in the U.S.  It sounds like someone form the civic association added that tidbit in; however, it is a very charming and significant district, if not for its historic architecture but for the redevelopment of the neighborhood in the 1950s and 1960s.  Ed Bacon spearheaded a plan to preserve much of the older buildings and integrate modern architecture and amenities, to create an ideal urban neighborhood.  Within the neighborhood is a network of pedestrian pathways and pocket parks that provide formal and informal public spaces.  Also there are 18^th and 19^th century houses standing next to 20^th century replicas, standing next to mid century modern townhouses.  I’ll admit is it’s one of the best areas to walk around the city.

Because of the immense success of Bacon’s redevelopment plan the area has been quite overrun by wealthy, older, white folks.  Sometimes you can catch snippets of conversations while wandering around the streets.  For example recently I was on a tour and at the Physick House, and as these ladies were setting up for their annual garden show the following was spilling from their mouths, we’ll call them Camilla and Martha:

Camilla: Oh you should come down the shore with us this summer

Martha: Well we can’t this summer, we gave up or shore house last year.  However, you’re more than welcome to come over to our heated pool and play bridge. 

Camilla: Oh that sounds lovely but I have never learned to play bridge.  The last time I tried to learn I just gave up.

Martha: Well you just have to hire a professional bridge trainer to teach you, it’s that simple. 

#firstworldproblems

Once I passed Locust St. I left charming residential Society Hill and ended up in, I’m not sure what the name of it is, I guess it’s technically Independence National Historic Park.  A cross between Society Hill, Washington Square and Old City, the National Park Service dominates 45 acres of urban space.  The area is home to several national landmarks including, The Constitution Center, the Liberty Bell, the Betsy Ross House, Ben Franklin’s House, and many others. However none are more important than Independence Hall situated on Chestnut between 5^th and 6^th Streets and the namesake for the entire area.  Sidenote: as an American and an urban designer I appreciate Independence Hall and the cobblestone paving choice along 5^th and Chestnut Streets.  However, as an old beat up bike, Loretta doesn’t appreciate cobblestone. 

Independence Mall is a 3 block long parks that is anchored by Independence Hall to the south. The mall is also an Ed Bacon move, one that is not nearly as celebrated by local residents as Society Hill.  In the 1950s Bacon had the idea for a grand open space to celebrate the national landmark.  It turned out that clearing 3 full blocks of city proved real hard for the tiny Independence Hall to capture. The original plans of formal landscaping and symmetrical gardens were scrapped in the 1990s when the National Park Service created a plan to add several tourist related buildings in the mall (i.e. the Constitution Center, Independence Visitor Center and the Liberty Bell Pavilion).  Over the past 10 years the redesign of the mall has been under constructed and finished just last year, at a cost of $300 million.  Inga Saffron (resident philly.com architecture critic) has a good review of the effects of this process. 

The mall is additionally surrounded by several important federal buildings and museums such as the Federal Reserve Bank (Philadelphia), the U.S. Third Circuit Court along with these gems:

The Bourse – an old commodities exchange building that is now a food court and tourist shopping center

The new National Museum of American Jewish History - completed last year as one of the pieces of Independence Mall’s redevelopment.

And the U.S. Mint - just for you Mom.  My mom still laments the fact that when visiting Philadelphia back in the mid 1990s she was stuck holding cameras.  I‘ve assured her it’s not that exciting. 

Shortly after the U.S. Mint/Arch Street 5^th Street becomes very wide and the bike lane and  a lane of traffic disappears into a tunnel, avoiding the Ben Franklin Bridge.  It’s super fun to ride down and shot ridiculous things.