Philadelphia City Hall

Earlier in December, I took a day off to do a little exploring in town. I've lived in Philadelphia for six years and hadn't yet toured city hall. It's located a prominent square in the center of two just two blocks north of where I work, and just a few more blocks away from my apartment building. Tours run two hours and are only available on weekdays so there is no convenient time outside of work to visit.

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Our tour group consisted of three people: the guide, a gentleman from Boston, and myself. We started with about 40 minutes on the outside of the building. The guide pointed out a few sculptures and reliefs, I'd walked by numerous times but never appreciated. He showed the special door where the paddy wagon would deposit prisoners for their court date in courtrooms up above. A bystander appeared interested as we stood over a tiled abstractions of William Penn's plan for the city, but an alternate agenda, angrily chastising the guide for not mentioning that William Penn owned slaves.

The building has over 700+ rooms. We visited a few of the major ones including the Mayor's Meeting Room, now used for Press Conferences; the council caucus room, where they conducted business when they didn't want the pesky citizens listening in; and Main Council Chamber. We also went to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Chamber. Reportedly, Pennsylvania has the only remaining traveling Supreme Court in the nation. The rotate between Harrisburg, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh. This is where they meet when they're in town. The tour ended with a trip to the top of the 550' tower, a ride I've taken a few times before, but not in a few years, for great views over the city.

Council Chamber

Ben Franklin Parkway from City Hall Tower

South Broad Street. I work in the third tall building on the right.

Northern Liberties (A neighborhood in Philadelphia) and Beyond.