Philadelphia

Philadelphia was founded by William Penn, for whom Pennsylvania is named (Penn's Woods). Think of Philadelphia as a grid. The main north-south street is Broad Street. The main east-west street is Market Street. Where these two streets meet, in the figurative center of Philadelphia, is City Hall. Nearby is Independence Hall, where the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence were drafted. The following scenes begin in the courtyard of Philadelphia City Hall.

There are multiple scenes following. To see the scenes, after the first one, you must first click the up arrow, ^, before you can move on to the next scene by clicking the right or forward arrow, >, After clicking the up arrow, you can then hide the previews of successive scenes, if you wish.

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.9524048,-75.1635508,2a,75y,160.37h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1smNC4dWXFJvEcIA0coWH-gw!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo1.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DmNC4dWXFJvEcIA0coWH-gw%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D164.70935%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

This is Logan Square, through which runs Ben Franklin Parkway. On the square is the Franklin Institute. Ben Franklin also began the University of Pennsylvania which teamed with the British Museum to amaze the world by excavating the ancient city of Ur. The Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, made of dark red stone, was visited by Pope John Paul not long after he became pope.

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.9581218,-75.170475,2a,75y,317.22h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s7qW7XdW8vUGjZHLxjeuwmg!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo1.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3D7qW7XdW8vUGjZHLxjeuwmg%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D324.6478%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

Remember that we saw in "America And The Modern World Explained By Way Of Paris" how the Philadelphia Central Library on Logan Square is a replica of the building on Place Concorde, Hotel Crillon, where Ben Franklin first got diplomatic recognition for the new United States from a foreign country.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkway_Central_Library#/media/File:The_Free_Library_of_Philadelphia.jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%B4tel_de_Crillon#/media/File:DSC_7353-Hotel-Crillon-Pari.jpg

The Art Museum is Philadelphia's version of the Louvre. From the Art Museum you can see along Ben Franklin Parkway, through Logan Square to City Hall. The Franklin Institute is a science museum.

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.9643393,-75.1792341,2a,75y,316.89h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sVAntUWD7cQ7L2hmpkIhTfg!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo0.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DVAntUWD7cQ7L2hmpkIhTfg%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D324.34454%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

The U.S. Marines actually began in a tavern in Philadelphia, the Tun Tavern. This is near Independence Hall. The following scenes are of that site and the nearby waterfront.

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This is in central Philadelphia, beginning outside the Reading Terminal Market.

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.9536816,-75.1578846,3a,75y,105.13h,90t/data=!3m5!1e1!3m3!1srrpnUYcPu0k1_kSctieC7w!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo3.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DrrpnUYcPu0k1_kSctieC7w%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D109.431816%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100

This is the district known as Brewerytown.

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I once had a meal at the Broad Street Diner in South Philadelphia. There are so many of those old-style row houses that Philadelphia is known for.

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The Delaware River forms the state boundary between Pennsylvania and New Jersey. In the Philadelphia metropolitan area, but across the river in New Jersey, is the city of Camden. The first thing that Camden brings to mind is Campbell's Soup. It is directly across from downtown Philadelphia. The suspension bridge connecting the two is the Ben Franklin Bridge.

The following views begin on board the U.S.S. New Jersey. Camden used to be world-renowned for shipbuilding. Most of the views are looking across the river at the skyline of Philadelphia.

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.9394484,-75.1330734,3a,75y,106.55h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipOrpJlwRweAGd5_g04d3dQxqDthrUULIkmoWH1v!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipOrpJlwRweAGd5_g04d3dQxqDthrUULIkmoWH1v%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-0-ya111.18861-ro-0-fo100!7i8000!8i4000

The following scenes are of Camden.

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.9424313,-75.1168391,3a,75y,148.41h,90t/data=!3m5!1e1!3m3!1sbB_jTTlTlvtUL3ZcHLT_Rw!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo1.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DbB_jTTlTlvtUL3ZcHLT_Rw%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D154.7586%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100

Just north of the Philadelphia metropolitan area is Trenton. It is the state capital of New Jersey.

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.2201315,-74.7640516,3a,75y,6.71h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sHPjCsbl7aUoQgbdX5U6jaw!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo0.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DHPjCsbl7aUoQgbdX5U6jaw%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D5.135036%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

"MR. PHILADELPHIA"

Ben Franklin, one of the founders of the United States, could be given the title of "Mr. Philadelphia", although he was not born there. He was never president but, with the exception of George Washington, his name is the best-known of the early Americans today. His name is certainly better-known than the presidents who followed Washington, John Adams, James Madison, James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, and even Thomas Jefferson.

I actually think it would have diminished his legacy if he had been president because he would have been defined by what happened during his term as president and it would taken his attention away from the other things that he did.

Ben Franklin only went to school for a few years but he relentlessly educated himself by reading. One of his many interests was electricity. He was the one who named the positive and negative electric charges. I consider that as more important than anything else that he did. My cosmology theory has the entire universe being made of these two electric charges that Ben Franklin defined.

Another thing that he did was to chart the Gulf Stream. It was known before his time but he is the one who charted it. Ships took longer to move westward through the English Channel because they were going against the current.

There was once a U.S. state named Franklin, until it became part of Tennessee.

Just as Moslems have prayers five times a day, Ben Franklin wanted to start similar daily prayers in the United States. But it seems as if his plan was for only once a day.