Philly is a great town, full of history, and very proud of it. I walked all over it in a radius from the hostel and covered most of the historic district. I enjoyed the brick sidewalks, some cobblestone streets, Ben Franklin's original post office - the first in America (which the U.S. Postal Service plans to close). I saw Colonial-style buildings, and a beautiful modern building that houses the Liberty Bell, which can be seen from the street through a glass wall by any person at any time.
This is the room in Independence Hall where the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation (a system with fatal weaknesses) and the Constitution (which still guides our nation) were signed. The room has thirteen seats. Center back is the "rising sun" chair where George Washington sat and presided over events.
Independence Hall was covered with scaffolding as the National Park Service works to conserve it.
Reflecting on the Liberty Bell.
The famous crack, symbolic of the flaws many people (i.e., Native American and African American minorities) have experienced in the playing out of their American dreams.
Statue of an eighteenth-century man in a three-cornered hat, being mimicked by a guy in a North Face jacket.
