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Arch Street Meeting House

320 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106

Since 1682, the property located at 320 Arch Street has been actively and continuously used by Quakers and the community.

You won’t see a steeple or stained glass windows on a Quaker meeting house.

Generally speaking, Quaker meeting houses are two-story wood-frame buildings with two separate entrances at the front of the building, a large first-floor meeting space with benches, and an interior second-story gallery. Since worship involves silent contemplation without clergy or ritual, there is no need for an altar, pulpit, or other religious symbols.

Meeting houses carry the Quaker ideals of simplicity, plainness, and equality; Arch Street Meeting House is no exception. The Quaker building tradition is reflected in the simple yet high-quality materials and notable craftsmanship used in construction. Known for their utilitarian design and minimal detail or ornamentation, meeting houses typically blend into the environment by using local materials and construction practices.

The Arch Street Meeting House was designed in 1803-04 by Quaker master-builder Owen Biddle Jr.  The meeting house is an example of the Georgian architectural style and it incorporates a simple or plain Quaker design. As seen in his original drawings, Owen Biddle planned Arch Street to be three main rooms but they weren’t all built at once.  The East Room and central meeting space were built in 1804 and the West Room followed in 1811.

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The American Chinese Museum

7345-7347 Oxford Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19111

The American Chinese Museum promotes America’s diverse cultural heritage by collecting, preserving, and sharing American Chinese history, culture and art, serve as a center for research and learning, and inspire and connect audiences with American Chinese experiences, with a goal to promote mutual understanding, mutual respect and mutual learning, between people of all backgrounds.

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The Galleries at Moore

1916 Race St, Philadelphia, PA 19103

As a gateway between the College and the city of Philadelphia, The Galleries are a catalyst for creative exploration, experimentation and scholarship and function as a gathering place to meet, reflect, learn, challenge, and create—our commitment to academic, artistic, and curatorial freedoms is evidenced through our inclusive and innovative exhibitions and events, all of which are free and open to the public.

What to see during CollegeFest: Visit Rochelle Levy: By the Sea, an exhibition that explores the prolific work of alum Rochelle F. Levy ’79. Known for her depictions of equestrian tableaus, peaceful seaside moments, and beaches populated with an ever-changing ensemble cast of characters, Levy has been painting picturesque scenes from her life and travels for more than fifty years.

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Woodford Mansion

3400 West Dauphin Street, East Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, PA 19132

Woodford is owned by the City of Philadelphia and operated by the Naomi Wood Trust as a historic house museum. The house displays the collection of 18th and early 19th century colonial American decorative and fine arts founded by Naomi Wood, a Philadelphia-born collector.

Woodford is open to the public year round. Expert guides offer tours Wednesday through Sunday from 10 am to 4 pm. Admission is $8 for adults, $5 for senior citizens (65+) and students with a valid id and youths (13-17). Free for children 12 and under.

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Museum of Illusions

401 Market Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The Museum of Illusions Philadelphia is like no place you’ve been before. We are a one-of-a-kind edutainment destination where you can immerse yourself in the wonderful world of illusions! Guests will enjoy more than 60 visual and educational exhibits featuring holograms, stereograms, optical illusions, and immersive rooms that are designed to tease the senses and trick the mind.

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Science History Institute

315 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia PA, 19106

Science is all around us. It’s not just found in the laboratory. It’s in the water we drink, the air we breathe, the clothes we wear, and the earth beneath our feet.

At our museum, you can explore the amazing successes, astonishing failures, and strange surprises behind the science that shapes our world.

Be sure to check out BOLD, our new exhibition exploring the vivid histories behind the dramatic transition to synthetic dyes; Playing Dirty, our latest outdoor exhibition; and our newly refreshed permanent galleries featuring new objects and hidden or obscured science histories.

 

Photo credit: @scihistoryorg on Instagram

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OverTime Public Art Tour

2600 Benjamin Franklin Pkwy, Philadelphia, PA 19130

Monument Lab’s OverTime is a public art and technology platform designed to allow users to dig deeper into the living history of a city. Through a free downloadable augmented reality app, OverTime offers educational, self-guided tours of a public space by unearthing the multiple layers of history, meaning, and interpretation of that site through a personal smart device. Led by a virtual tour guide, the app opens an imagined outdoor art and history museum, so that users can access histories of an important street or intersection; explore stories and memories; and visualize new ways to access and share their own perspectives and knowledge of that site.

Head to the Art Museum steps for a virtual tour hosted by renowned poet Ursula Rucker!

 

OverTime is a collaboration with Dream Syndicate and the Center for Public Art & Space at the University of Pennsylvania Weitzman School of Design.

The first prototype tour will be released for public use at the iconic Art Museum steps hosted by renowned poet Ursula Rucker. OverTime illuminates stories through a living timeline, city sightlines, and a “new art history” of the Rocky statue. Each stop of the tour is guided by an open research question: What has happened here? What can you see from here? What does this statue mean to you? Through the app, Monument Lab will gather visitors’ observations and make those reflections accessible through its website. Built with Philadelphia-based technologists Dream Syndicate, OverTime optimizes socially-distanced outdoor engagement by offering the option to engage on site at the steps, or off-site for accessibility and public health purposes.

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Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (PAFA)

118-128 North Broad Street

As the first art museum and school in the United States, PAFA celebrates the transformative power of art and art-making.

PAFA inspires the public by expanding the stories of American art through its collections, exhibitions, and programs; and educates artists from around the world to be innovative makers and critical thinkers with a deep understanding of traditions and the ability to challenge conventions.

Through its world-class museum and school, PAFA nurtures and recognizes artists at every turn in their career.

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The Clay Studio

137-139 North Second Street

The Clay Studio inspires curiosity and discovery around the art and craft of clay, drawing together students, artists, and an engaged public into a welcoming community. 

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The Philadelphia Art Alliance at University of the Arts

320 S. Broad St

Founded by playwright Christine Wetherill Stevenson in 1915 and located in the former Wetherill Mansion on Rittenhouse Square, the Philadelphia Art Alliance is considered one of the first multidisciplinary art spaces in the U.S.

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