City Cycling: Historic Philadelphia

A list of links to my blog entries detailing the bicycle rides I took around Philadelphia, using the Philadelphia Inquirer's Guide to Historic Philadelphia as a general reference:


City Cycling Philadelphia: Revolutionary Roads
   "The Nation's Most Historic Square Mile" - Independence Hall, Liberty Bell, etc.

City Cycling 2: Christmas Spirit Ride
   City Hall, Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Wanamaker Christmas displays

City Cycling 3: High Society
   Rittenhouse Square and Society Hill

City Cycling 4: Old City and Washington Square 
   Neighborhoods of Poe and Franklin, Christ Church, publishing houses, theaters

City Cycling 5: Fairmount Park
   Mansions, Philadelphia Zoo, Centennial Exposition

City Cycling 6: University City and West Philadelphia
   Penn and Drexel, Franklin Field, Palestra, the Woodlands, Bartram's Garden

City Cycling 7: Chestnut Hill and Germantown
   Morris Arboretum, more mansions, Valley Green, Wissahickon Forbidden Drive Trail

City Cycling 8: Penn's Landing and Southwark Finale 
   Seaport, South Street, Italian Market, John Heinz Wildlife Refuge, Fort Mifflin



   

City Cycling 8: Penn's Landing and Southwark Finale

   Last week I completed the last of my cycling-version of twelve walks discussed in the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Guide to Historic Philadelphia. As I have done a few times since I started these tours back in December, I combined a couple of the trips that were either connected by theme or geography. This particular journey involved the areas of Penn’s Landing and Southwark, and because the route included a side loop way out around Philadelphia International Airport to reach the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge and Fort Mifflin, I decided to start my ride closer to the city.

   From my many rides on the Schuylkill Trail over the years, I was very familiar with a large movie theater parking lot just outside of Manayunk, not far from the entrance to the Wissahickon Trail on Ridge Avenue. Because I was starting around noon on a weekday, I knew the lot would be practically empty except for a handful of vehicles for employees and shoppers at the adjacent stores, so there would be no trouble finding a space in which to leave my car for a couple of hours.

   I headed down Ridge and made a right turn onto the Schuylkill Trail along Kelly Drive. Past the art museum, I left the trail for the Ben Franklin Parkway, then turned right down 21st Street. I made a left on Chestnut Street and followed that across the city to Penn’s Landing. 

   Although the water traffic is quite different from the city’s beginnings in the early 1700s, when the riverfront bustled with hundreds of sailing ships carrying passengers and cargo, there is still a significant amount of commercial traffic. During the warmer months, the Delaware River comes alive with pleasure craft in and out of the marina. A paddlewheel riverboat and cruise vessels glide through the water, while the Riverbus Ferry takes visitors across to Camden to see a Riversharks baseball game, explore the Adventure Aquarium, tour the Battleship New Jersey or attend an event at the BB&T Pavilion.

   Decades ago, Penn’s Landing underwent a huge renovation around the Great Plaza and the Independence Seaport Museum. Concerts, festivals and fireworks seem to take place year-round, but there is still a bit of isolation to this area because of the I-95 corridor. Plans are in place for a solution, in the form of a park that will cap over the highway between Chestnut and Walnut Streets, making access to the waterfront much easier. In fact, there are crazy number of projects in the works all along the Delaware River, but we’ll see how that goes!

   I made my way down the ramps that curve around the right side of the plaza amphitheater to reach the lower walkway at the waterfront. I passed the Blue Cross RiverRink (a much busier place in the winter!) on my left to arrive at the current docking spot for the Gazela. This 177-foot square-rigged tall ship is not always in port, but when it is, volunteers working aboard will sometimes give impromptu tours.

   Built in 1883, the Gazela was the last of a Portuguese fleet of fishing vessels. It now serves as an ambassador for Philadelphia, sailing up and down the Atlantic coast for festivals and celebrations.

   I did a U-turn and pedaled back around the plaza to the Independence Seaport Museum, where models and artifacts offer a glimpse of Philadelphia’s maritime past. Interactive exhibits are fun and educational - one can use a tiny crane to unload cargo from a container ship, rivet and weld a ship’s hull or climb into crude wooden bunks in a recreation of a ship’s steerage section.

   I continued down the long, colorfully-tiled pier that fronts the marina, and passed the Jupiter tugboat to reach a pleasant, double-decked concrete lookout structure at the endpoint. To my left, across the river lay the USS New Jersey, America’s most decorated battleship, which was christened at her launching on December 7, 1942, by Carolyn Edison, wife of Garden State governor Charles Edison, son of the great inventor Thomas.

   I’ll leave you to read up on the extensive history of the battleship, but significant action included shelling targets in Guam and Okinawa, as well as screening air craft carriers conducting raids in the Marshall Islands during World War II. The USS New Jersey was also the only battleship providing gunfire support during the Vietnam War.

   On my right was the Moshulu, a four-masted steel barque that now serves as a floating restaurant. The Moshulu is known as the world’s oldest original windjammer, an iron-hulled vessel representing the final evolution of sailing ships, built during the 19th and early-20th centuries to carry bulk cargo long distances. 

   I backtracked down the pier and headed left along the other side of the marina, where I encountered the USS Becuna and USS Olympia, docked side-by-side. The Becuna is a 318-foot guppy-class submarine that was used during WWII to conduct search and destroy missions in the South Pacific. Tourists can scramble up and down ladders and along narrow walkways to examine the claustrophobic quarters, look at the instruments and listen to guides describe life aboard the sub.

   The Olympia was the flagship from the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish-American War, and is the last remaining vessel from that war. From its bridge, Commodore George Dewey said the famous words, “You may fire when you are ready, Gridley” when the Olympia led five other warships into Manila Bay. Ten Spanish cruisers and gunboats were destroyed in a few hours, without loss of a single American life!

   Although I could have continued about a mile or so along the Delaware River Trail, at this moment during its development, cyclists are unceremoniously dumped at the back of the Columbus Crossing Shopping Center. There is a nice park built on the abandoned Pier 68 but really not too much else to see out there, so at the intersection with Spruce Street, I crossed over to head south on Christopher Columbus Boulevard (former Delaware Avenue).

   One of the oldest sections of Philadelphia, Southwark was once known as Wicaco, a name meaning “a peaceful place”, borrowed from Native Americans by Swedish settlers who arrived in the mid-1600s. After Penn’s arrival in 1682, the area populated with only a few hundred quickly became a few thousand, as the English bought land along the riverfront below South Street for stores and warehouses. By the middle of the 18th century, the area became known as Southwark, an allusion to the London borough south of the Thames.

   Southwark became a bustling center of shipbuilding that made Philadelphia the largest port of the colonies in the new United States. Like its namesake in London, residents were merchants, shipwrights, pilots, riggers and sailors that lived in simple wood-framed houses, many which still stand today, although with additions altering their original appearance.

   The first United States Naval Yard was just a few blocks south of Gloria Dei, known as Old Swedes’ Church, at the southwest corner of Christopher Columbus Boulevard and Christian Street.

   Built in 1700, the brick structure was originally close to the Delaware River, but the land has since been filled in, and traffic now flows where sailing vessels once docked. The church houses a 1608 bible once owned by Swedish Queen Christina, as well as lectern and balcony carvings retrieved from the first church when it had been destroyed by fire. Hanging from the ceiling are two models of the ships that carried Swedish settlers here.

   I continued west on Christina, crossing Front Street and did a counterclockwise loop back, using 2nd and Carpenter Streets, in order to view the famous Shot Tower. Built in 1807, the 142-foot brick structure was the first of its kind in the country, and was used for 100 years. Shot poured into molds cooled as it was dropped the full height of the tower into water. The area surrounding the tower is now a playground and sports fields. 

   Now pedaling north on Front Street, I didn’t feel the need to go all the way to South Street, since I have been there many times, but I highly recommend the visit. Lining both sides of the street are scores of restaurants, theaters, night clubs, art galleries and shops, both elegant and funky! If nothing else, grab some coffee or ice cream, sit on a bench and people-watch.

   Over the years I recall eating steak sandwiches and looking at the celebrity photos/testimonials on the walls at Jim’s Steaks (400 South), checking out the trinkets and quirky t-shirts at Zipperheads punk-rock shop (now closed, but I understand former employees opened a similar shop called Crash Bang Boom, just around the corner at 528 S. 4th), seeing a Cheap Trick concert at the T.L.A. (Theater of the Living Arts – 334) and stuffing myself during a brother-in-law bachelor party/dinner at Percy Street BBQ, which boasts the country’s largest selection of canned craft beer (900). 

   Between Fitzwater and Pemberton Streets, I passed a development known as Workman Place. Built in 1812, the attractive cluster of brick homes surrounding a pretty courtyard is maintained by the Octavia Hill Foundation as low-cost housing. Just around the corner on Pemberton are a couple of houses once belonging to George Mifflin, grandfather of Thomas, the Revolutionary War general who built Fort Mifflin and served as first governor of Pennsylvania, 1790-99. In the brickwork, one can see George’s initials and the build date 1748, though the “G” is hard to make out because of weathering and brick repairs over the years. 

   At the time I was planning these City Cycling tours, I happened to read an article in the Inquirer about the Fleisher Art Memorial and the birth of the Graphic Sketch Club in 1898, and I added the 719 Catherine Street site to my Southwark route. I’ll leave you to read about its history and explore the website of this fantastic program. 

   I zigzagged a couple blocks southwest to the section of 9th Street between Christian and Wharton Streets to the Italian Market, a spot immortalized in Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky training run. Established by immigrant families in the late 19th century, the open-air marketplace is crowded with sidewalk vendors selling their food and goods. Visitors can browse the selection of pasta, fruit, vegetables and imported items found nowhere else. While there are several tempting Italian restaurants nearby, hungry sightseers can sample pastry, cheese and bread at one of the many stalls.

   I was now starting the airport loop portion of my day, the first 7.5-mile leg to the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge. I headed south on 10th Street and made a right on Snyder Avenue. Soon I veered left on Passyunk Ave and ducked under the Schuylkill Expressway and crossed over its namesake river on the Donatucci Bridge. I was a little surprised that nearly the whole route had a marked bike lane, and the fantastic weather made some of the seedier sections that I was riding through seem not so bad.

   Passyunk eventually becomes Essington Avenue, and a few miles later I made successive right turns onto Bartram Avenue and 84th Street. I made a left at Lindbergh Boulevard to reach the entrance to the refuge, which is a 1200-acre freshwater tidal marsh that is home to 280 species of birds, as well as a host of land animals like deer, raccoons, turtles, foxes and weasels.

   The marshlands here at the confluence of Darby Creek and the Schuylkill have seen quite a transformation in the last hundred years or so, from an industrial park to Army Corps of Engineers dredging dump and then a 1972 Congress environmental rescue project. Cleanup and maintenance, much done by volunteers, has worked wonders! I took a stroll out the boardwalk to the viewing platform then rode on the mostly very rough (I highly recommend a ‘cross or mountain bike), and occasionally mushy, trail surface, completing the four-mile ride out to Wanamaker Avenue at the west end of the refuge.

   I carefully turned left on the busy 4-lane street and crossed over I-95, then made a left turn on 2nd Street in the community of Essington in Tinicum Township. I made a sharp right onto Hogs Island/Fort Mifflin Road and enjoyed being buzzed by some landing jets before pedaling a little less than five miles to arrive at the fort itself.

   Fort Mifflin has an incredible history from the early colonial period of the 1600s through World War II, but it probably most famous as the site where just a few hundred patriots withstood the greatest naval bombardment of the Revolutionary War, holding off British forces for nearly two months while Washington’s army moved to Valley Forge. If interested, you can find an excellent, concise summary of the fort’s history at fortwiki.com and more involved information at fortmifflin.us.

   At the end of Fort Mifflin Road, I turned left onto Enterprise Avenue, which veers onto Island Avenue. After a lefthander at Lindbergh Avenue, it was simple connection back to the Greys Ferry Avenue/22nd Street route I used previously during my return from Bartram’s Garden back to the Schuylkill River Trail.

   I’ve enjoyed myself tremendously doing these rides and, if nothing else, I’ve proven to myself and readers that Philadelphia is quite a bicycle-friendly city! By the way, in case you missed any of the previous City Cycling stories, I added a link to them in the right-hand column of my blog page.

City Cycling 7: Chestnut Hill and Germantown

   When discussing some of my previous rides into Philadelphia with friends, the idea that city cycling isn’t for everyone, consistently comes up. I would add that trying to follow some of the routes that I’ve been doing is very difficult by bike, not only because you have to be familiar with your surroundings, but also because you have to have skill moving around traffic, pedestrians and various “road obstacles”.

   This particular ride through the Germantown section of the city would not be for the casual cyclist, as it not only required some fitness with the hills involved, but it demanded top-end handling ability on the cobbled streets, weaving through cars and maneuvering over in-street trolley trackage. I would also recommend that anyone determined to try this tour should ride a cyclocross, hybrid or mountain bike with larger tire diameter to provide cushioning, and wear your favorite padded cycling gloves!

    I tried something a bit different this time around and started my ride in Fort Washington State Park and rode the upper section of the Wissahickon Trail to its endpoint at the corner of Valley Green Road and Stenton Avenue, just outside of Flourtown, PA. I continued south on Stenton and turned right on Erdenheim Street to arrive at a bonus destination, one of the few true cobbled climbs in the area, on Meadowbrook Ave. I felt momentarily transported back to Belgium!

   At the top of the hill is Gates Hall, which serves as an administration and laboratory building for the University of Pennsylvania’s Morris Arboretum. The entrance to the grounds is actually on Northwestern Avenue, so a loop back down Stenton would be required to reach the gate. The arboretum contains more than 100 acres of gardens and landscaped property.

   The arboretum was started in 1887 by John Morris and his sister Lydia, who eventually gave the land to the university in 1932. Visitors can view a wonderful collection of mature trees, a swan pond and formal rose garden. One can also take a relaxing stroll through a meadow, as well as Japanese and English gardens. There are also a couple seasonal displays, including the famous garden railway.

   I headed south on Northwestern Avenue and passed Chestnut Hill College before making a left onto Germantown Avenue. I laughed when I saw a sign stating that Chestnut Hill was a bicycle friendly community, as the bicycle lane on the bridge over Wissahickon Creek was completely covered with cinders and tree detritus. When I met the nasty, long hill (I assume the subject of the area’s name) on the other side of the bridge, I realized that the bike lane was probably never used, so no one ever complained about having it cleared!

   I’m in close to top form at this time of the year, but wouldn’t say I enjoyed the climb - I can imagine most folks walking their bikes up! I was breathing pretty hard when I reached the top, not far past the Woodmere Art Museum, which is housed in an attractive mansard-roofed stone mansion built in the 19th century.

   My planned route included approximately 3.5 miles of pedaling along Germantown Avenue to my next landmark. The cobbles started less than a mile along the way at the trolley loop near the intersection with Bethlehem Pike. I had some fun over the cobbles and enjoyed the up and down nature of the road.

   I became concerned with maneuvering between the raised edge of the track’s concrete platform and the parked cars. I definitely didn’t want to catch the edge with my front wheel and go down in front of traffic, which was becoming heavier as I went farther into the city. I also wanted to concentrate on seeing what was ahead of me, as there was a real threat of being “doored” by the Chestnut Hill shoppers getting in and out of their cars!

   I decided to ride on the concrete platform out in the traffic lane, between the outside track and the cobbled surface, as much as possible. Although that section was only about 18 inches wide, years of cycling with my wife and others while drafting closely behind a rear wheel have developed my ability to “hold a line”, and I felt a lot safer with the handling on that smooth surface, despite its narrow confines. I was keeping conscious of the traffic flow ahead, as well as the cars behind me, and would occasionally pull over to let a few cars go by when I was becoming an obstacle.

   The mid-18th century Federal-style house known as Upsala was used by American troops during the Revolutionary War. Its name comes from the university city of Uppsala in Sweden, and was owned by the Johnson family, who were tanners. The Battle of Germantown featured American artillery set up on the property to shell the British forces across the street at Cliveden.

   Pennsylvania Chief Justice Benjamin Chew saw his elegant country home become a war

zone on the foggy morning of October 4, 1777. General Washington led a surprise attack against the occupying British soldiers, and the outside walls of Cliveden still show the scars of bullets.

   A couple blocks away, near Washington Lane, is the Johnson House, which became a stop on the Underground Railroad. This wonderful example of Germantown architecture was built for John Johnson in 1768 and was home to three generations of Quakers that strived to abolish slavery. 

   Right across Germantown Avenue is the one-room Concord Schoolhouse, built in 1775. Inside is a small fireplace and hard wooden benches used by the children. The original schoolmaster’s desk is still in place, as is the original bell up in the building’s simple belfry.

   I took a right turn on Tulpehocken Street and rode a few blocks to reach the Ebenezer Maxwell Mansion (photo left), a beautiful mid-19th-century stone villa. Now containing a library on Victorian architecture, the mansion was home for the owner of a large department store in Philadelphia. Maxwell was known for shipping goods to customers before the practice became widely used, and he was also one of the first businessmen in the area to commute to work by train.

   Back to Germantown Avenue, I only had to go about a block to reach Wyck, one of the oldest homes in Philadelphia. Hans Milan replaced his original 1690 log structure with what is actually two houses joined together, when he added living space for his daughter and husband between 1710 and 1715. The property served as a field hospital during the Battle of Germantown, and the Marquis de Lafayette visited the site when he returned to America in 1825.

   I soon crossed Chelten Avenue and was in the center of Germantown. The Deshler-Morris House became the official residence of President George Washington during two separate stays of a few weeks during the years of 1793 and 1794. The stone house, built in 1772 by Quaker merchant David Deshler, was actually occupied by British commander William Howe during the Battle of Germantown. The next owner leased the property to Washington during the 1793 yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia.

   The president and family returned a year later to the "Germantown White House" and could often be seen crossing the street through Market Square, where much of the community’s activity once took place. Stalls with vendors goods have since been replaced by a statue of a Union soldier, which stands upon a slab of granite taken from the Devil’s Den, a spot of intense fighting during the Civil War’s Battle of Gettysburg.

   A few pedal strokes away at the end of Queen Lane lies a rustic stone house known as Grumblethorpe. The German farmstead was built in 1744 by Philadelphia wine importer and merchant John Wister, and features stone quarried from the property and joists carved from local oaks. During the American Revolution, the house served as the headquarters for British general James Agnew.

   On the right, just before the avenue starts to pitch downhill, is a grassy park which contains a graceful Federal-style mansion known as Loudon, built in 1801 by Thomas Arnat. Named after the Virginia county where Arnat had originally settled after arriving from England, the home received a Greek Revival look in 1830.

   I ducked under the bridge carrying Septa’s railroad tracks from Wayne Junction and made a left turn on Windrim Avenue. I was riding through a neighborhood that can only be described politely as one that has seen better days and found an oasis at 18th Street, in the form of the Stenton estate. Designed by William Penn’s secretary James Logan (for whom Logan Circle is named) and finished in 1730, the manor was the first Queen Anne-style building in the area.

   After the Penn family’s return to England in 1701, Logan represented the Penn family’s interests in Philadelphia for a half century and named his mansion after the birthplace of his Scottish father. Stenton was used by General Howe while plotting British moves during the Battle of Germantown.

   I made my way back to Germantown Avenue and made a right onto Hunting Park Avenue. After a couple miles, I turned right at Allegheny Avenue and again at Ridge Avenue to eventually reach the Wissahickon Trail. I have ridden this lower portion of the trail many times, as it is a fantastic shady route during hot summer months.

   Also known as the Forbidden Drive Trail, it is a rare road-to-trail conversion that runs along a beautiful 5.4-mile length of the Wissahickon Creek gorge. Constructed in the mid-1800s as a turnpike, this roadway was renamed Forbidden Drive in 1920 when the Philadelphia park commission successfully pushed to have vehicles banned from its use.

   The surface varies from a dusty, gravel coating to coarser stone and even some bare rock ledge, so I would suggest bicycle tires of a 28mm width and up. There will be plenty of hiker, and occasionally equestrian, traffic sharing the route with cyclists, but, because it was once a street, the trail is always plenty wide. One last tip – I greatly recommend a stop at the historic Valley Green Inn for brunch or dinner, but maybe, if you are in sweaty cycling attire, stick to the patio.

   I left the gravel at the Northwestern Avenue trailhead, turned right and retraced the first portion of my route back to Fort Washington State Park.