City Cycling 3: High Society

   Before getting into my latest city tour, I want to provide a shop update. First off, I realized that I neglected to mention one of the bikes I’ve had for sale for a couple months. Last fall I met someone in Philadelphia in order to sell the Gios-Torino Super Record bicycle I had built, and a rare Team Lemond Pro came my way in exchange. Equipped with Campagnolo Chorus and Record components, the bike was built most likely in 1987, as the seat tube decal refers only to Greg’s 1986 Tour victory. The American legend won two more, of course, in '89 and '90.

   I thought that the bicycle may be one of the custom Roland della Santa versions, as I've heard his bicycles were painted by Cycle Art, and that company's logo is atop of the non-drive chainstay. Further information I’ve gathered is that the frameset was more likely done by Teodoro Carnielli, maker of Bottecchia bicycles. Bottecchia famously supplied bicycles to Lemond’s ADR team during his remarkable 1989 Tour de France-winning season.

   After a quick swap of saddles and a wrap of some new bar tape, the Basso Fior di Loto was also posted on the page:

   

   My friend Dan recently visited for a session of “Bicycle University”, during which we built his Soma Double Cross bicycle. I had purchased the bicycle back in the autumn of 2018 and set it aside for Dan until we could find all the parts he needed. The Double Cross had come complete with a Campagnolo Record group, which really was a bit high-end for a cyclocross bike, as those parts would become rather abused.

   This arrangement provided me the opportunity to free up some budget for Dan, as the “Campy” parts could be swapped out for a less expensive SRAM 1x10 drivetrain. I decided to make him a fair offer on the Record components and save myself time and effort, not to mention a handful of bucks on shipping, having to search for such quality stuff on the ‘net. These parts will go on an upcoming Olmo project I will be mentioning in future blog entries.

   Dan and I really enjoyed ourselves, and because he is really quite handy, we managed the job pretty quickly with only the occasional “pro tip” from me to help move things along. Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t conducive to outdoor photos, so we made due with some makeshift “studio shots” before he took the Soma home:

   During one of the few mild (or not rainy) days we’ve had this January, I headed into Philadelphia for an extended test ride on my Look KG 231. I planned on touring the well-to-do Rittenhouse Square and Society Hill areas of the city, and although the visit wouldn’t include the famous sites that were included in my previous history tours, there were plenty of interesting things to see.

   Just outside of Norristown, I hooked up with a group of eight cyclists out for a training ride, and we were really moving, completing the 20 miles or so into the city within an hour! My exit point from the Schuylkill River Trail was at Locust Street, and I headed to the 2000 block of Delancey Place, past what once was the home of famed writer Pearl S. Buck. The marble-faced structure stood out among the row of brick townhouses, and I saw a realtor’s sign out front, so act quickly!

   I zig-zagged over to the 1900 block of Panama Street, one of the prettiest clusters of homes in Philadelphia. The charming, tree-lined lane has long been a residence of artists, musicians and writers.

   Just around the corner on 19th and Delancey is the former home of civil war general George Meade, who led the Union troops to victory at Gettysburg. Meade later served as commissioner of Fairmount Park until his death in 1827. On the front of the building, which now houses apartments, the name Meade can still be read in large letters above the doorway facing 19th.

   I turned left on 18th and headed around Rittenhouse Square, which, in William Penn’s original plans for a “Greene Country Town”, was a field where sheep and cows grazed. It was eventually named to honor David Rittenhouse, who was during his lifetime a clockmaker, a University of Pennsylvania professor of astronomy, president of the American Philosophical Society, first director of the U.S. Mint and member of the General Assembly and State Constitutional Convention.

   The lovely park was once surrounded by great Victorian homes - many have been torn down, but a few remain, such as the wonderful townhouse on the southwest corner that once belonged to Henry P. McIlhenny, one of the city’s great connoisseurs and wealthy patron of the arts. At the time of his death in 1986, McIlhenny donated his entire collection, including paintings by Cézanne, Matisse, Manet, Renoir and others valued at over $50 million, to the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

   On the square’s northwest corner sits the beautiful Romanesque structure of the Church of the Holy Trinity, completed in 1859, and the Rittenhouse Club, once an exclusive organization, now a collection of shops, occupies the northeast corner.

   To the southeast are the adjacent Curtis Institute of Music, an internationally renowned, tuition-free music conservatory, and the Barclay, an immense U-shaped, 22-story hotel that once hosted movie stars and royalty, but has been recently converted into condominiums.

   I headed a few blocks south and turned left on Pine Street to head across the city to the area between 5th and 2nd, known as Society Hill. Named for the Free Society of Traders, a short-lived 17th-century British corporation that invested in William Penn’s new colony.

   Because this section of the city is residential, I passed many churches on my route. Maybe because I’ve been spoiled by fantastic Gothic cathedrals during my European travels, I wasn’t too excited by the comparatively simple colonial structures. However, I don’t want to blow them off totally, as they certainly are historic churches, among the oldest in the country.

   The Society Hill portion of my tour actually started near Old Pine Church (built in 1768), but along the way I passed, in order, St. Peter’s (1761), Old St. Paul’s (1761), Old St. Joseph’s (1733) and Old St. Mary’s (1763). I also rode by the Society Hill Synagogue, which is an interesting Greek Revival structure built originally in 1829 as the Spruce Street Baptist Church. Its designer, Thomas Ustick Walter left the city in 1851 to work on the dome, House and Senate wings of the Capitol in Washington, D.C.

   Because I have been there many times, I didn’t bother riding down to 2nd Street and Head House Square, a handsome Georgian brick structure and arcade that served as an open-air colonial market. It is a delightful place to visit during the holidays and in the warmer months when the area is busy with craftspeople, artists and entertainers.

   Turning left on 3rd Street, I visited the Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial. If you don’t know anything about the Polish general, statesman and patriot, I encourage you to read about him, as he was an extremely interesting individual!

   I made a quick right turn on Delancey Street and found what may be my favorite street in the city. Except for the American colonial architecture – and American cars along the curbs – the narrow lanes and Belgian block pavers made me feel like I was in Europe. Using Google Street View, I put together a composite photo of the corner of Delancey and Philip Streets, mostly because any photos on a wintery, gray day would not do the area justice!

   This corner was also the location of the Rhoades-Barclay House, and I stopped here to snack on some of the supplies I had stuffed in the back pockets of my cycling jacket. Samuel Rhoades built the home in 1758 for Port of Philadelphia comptroller Alexander Barclay. Rhoades was a member of the Carpenters’ Company and had also built Benjamin Franklin’s home. Rhoades was also a delegate to the First Continental Congress and became mayor of the city.

   I had to do a bit of a circle around the alternating one-way streets to reach the corner of 2nd and Locust Streets so that I could visit the Society Hill Towers. The complex of three skyscrapers, each thirty-one stories with 208 housing units, was designed by I.M. Pei, the architect of the controversial glass pyramids at Paris’ Louvre Museum.

   Continuing on 2nd to the corner at Spruce Street, I spied the “Man Full of Trouble” Tavern, the oldest such establishment remaining from colonial Philadelphia. The red brick building and adjacent Paschall House were constructed in 1759 on the banks of Little Dock Creek and were at one time two of the closest buildings to the Delaware River. The creek has since been filled in, and construction has changed this situation considerably!

   Without being some creepy dude peeking in the windows, I noticed the bottom floor looked rather empty, but as I passed, a young woman wearing a set of ear buds popped out the front door. I waved to get her attention without startling her then asked what purpose the building is currently serving. She nicely explained the tavern is owned by the University of Pennsylvania for graduate student housing – very cool!

   I made a turn to head north through the city along 3rd Street, pedaling past a well-known set of brownstone townhouses once owned by Michael Bouvier, the great-grandfather of Jackie Kennedy. After going by the house of John Penn, grandson of William and last colonial governor of Pennsylvania, I made a quick left up the narrow, cobbled Willing’s Alley, named for former mayor Thomas Willing, who was a partner of banker Robert Morris, who helped finance the Revolution.

   I continued north to reach Arch Street and head back across the city to the Ben Franklin Parkway and return home. Just outside of Manayunk, I developed a cramp – VERY unusual for me – in my upper left calf, and figured I was paying for the unexpected fast pace on the way into the city. Fighting the pain and stiffness was annoying, but it certainly didn’t spoil the day!