A Frigid Walk Through Downtown Philadelphia.

I was sound asleep five minutes after returning to my hotel room  while  in  Philadelphia for the Eagles football  game last Saturday. It was a long but exciting day. I was  still up early the next morning and  decided to take a quick walk through the streets of the City of Brotherly love before my brother and I headed back home. 

I left  the DoubleTree hotel located at the corner of Broad (16th)  and Locust Streets in the morning twilight  around 7 a.m. There was almost no traffic on the usually congested Broad Street. And only a few people, mainly homeless folks,  shivering  in the frigid arctic air. 

I have walked the streets of downtown Philadelphia for about 25 years now, usually while staying overnight while attending   a legal seminar or a Philadelphia Phillies or Eagles  game. I love Philly,

I walked north on Broad Street, toward City Hall. I still remember when the statue of William Penn once dominated the skyline of Philadelphia. Zoning ordinances prohibited any building from  being taller than William Penn’s hat atop his statue. 

I still remember  when the laws were changed and construction began on One Liberty Place in the 1980’s. The skyline of Philadelphia has changed considerably since then and many building now tower above our founder Mr. Penn. 

I walked past City Hall, once the tallest building in the world and made my way to the area of the Convention Center. This large building was  built, and  I began attending seminars here, in 1993. 

I usually stayed at the Marriott Hotel adjacent to the Convention Center and would stay for a few  nights allowing me time to explore my favorite city. 

I  spent many hours roaming the aisles and shops of the famous Reading Terminal.

I  ate many breakfasts at the Downtown Dinner. Before this dinner opened  28 years ago  I would eat breakfast  at a another dinner  located on a site where the Convention Center now sits. 

I continued my walk in the frigid morning air and found a number of homeless folks trying, as best they could, to survive in the harsh Winter weather. I reflected on how blessed, even with the recent tragedies I experienced,  my life has been.

I next walked to one of my favorite Philadelphia neighborhoods, the colorful and usually busy Chinatown. 

I have spent many hours exploring the exotic shops and eating in the many wonderful restaurants in crowded area along Arch and Race Streets. There was little activity on this cold Sunday morning.

And I was getting cold too, so I decided to cut my walk short and head back to the hotel. I normally would walk to either the Delaware or Schuylkill Rivers and the many historic sights in between. Not on Sunday, I made my way back as the rays of the rising  sun were shining  on William Penn.  I was soon warming up in my hotel room. 

The streets of Philadelphia had awakened and there  was much more people out and about on Broad Street. Traffic was bustling and we could  hear the noise of cars, fire engines and ambulances even on the 23rd floor of our hotel. We soon packed and were on our way to have breakfast with my nephew Brandon at Bob’s Dinner in the Manayunk section of the city.

Once again we made a good choice and soon enjoyed a hearty breakfast and more good conversation. After breakfast we said goodbye to Brandon and  were on our way back home to  Northeastern Pennsylvania.  We were only gone for a day but it was one good day. And know I will be back soon, hopefully for an Eagle’s Broad Street parade. GO Eagles!!!! Here is a link to some more photographs from my morning walk.  Morning walk January 14 2018. 

“I never walked through the streets of any city with as much satisfaction as those of Philadelphia. The neatness and cleanliness of all animate and inanimate things, houses, pavements, and citizens, is not to be surpassed.” 
— Frances Wright