SOLTuesday: History in Philadelphia

            I just spent two days in Philadelphia with a couple of friends. We intended to visit the Philadelphia Museum of Art to see the Gee Bend’s quilt exhibit, but neglected to check whether the museum was open on Mondays until we arrived at our B&B—and it isn’t.

            But all was not lost. We had reservations for a walking tour of the Old City with a tour guide who’d been a student of one of my friends several years ago. The tour was wonderful. Tim gave lots of information that I hadn’t known, like that Betsy Ross had three husbands, and outlived them all. We walked down Elspeth’s Alley, the oldest continuously used street in the country and a National Historic Landmark District. The street was first created in 1702, and there are now 32 privately owned and lived-in houses, which were built between 1738 and 1836. Several houses still had the fire company plaques that entitled the owners to priority fire-fighting because they’d paid for that service. There were many more fascinating stops, including the very first post office next to Benjamin Franklin’s home, because Franklin was the country’s first postmaster general. It’s still a functioning post office, but also looks like a museum.

           After the tour, we stopped at Shane’s Confectionary, opened in 1863 and continuously operated since then. I bought some intriguing chocolates: chocolate with cayenne, chocolate bar with ginger, and traditional fudge with nuts and a peanut butter fudge. The store also stocks Wilbur’s Buds, which look very much like Hersey Kisses because the person who created Hersey Kisses was an apprentice to the creator of Wilbur’s Buds and went off to give the idea to another candy maker near Hersey, Pennsylvania.

            If you’re in Philly, or happen to be visiting, I strongly recommend taking the Old City Walking Tour. 

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