Ron Avery Urban Explorer went there. Looked cool! When Darwin's evolution theory first came out, it was discussed there. It was discussed there again when a lawyer involved in the recent Intelliegnt Design case in Dover, DE came to talk there. Same controversy discussion and happening 100 years later! Very interesting. Wagner and his museum seem very underrated and overlooked.

__________________
"I think that anything that begins to give people a sense of their own worth and dignity is God."
John Shelby Spong

Go Phillies!

Growing up in North Philly, one of my first class trips was to the Wagner Institute. I still remember losing my baseball cap there in the theater section because it was so dark in there.
I'm wondering if the Institute has considered teaming up with Temple to help in its growth and survival. It truly is a hidden gem in the city.

The Wagner is great, and its one of the few Victorian natural history museums that's never been modernized.

Other suggestions:

The Rosenbach, which is a wonderful little house museum/rare books collection on Delancy. They have the manuscript for Ulysses and the drawings for Where the Wild things are. Getting to go through a Rittenhouse square mansion is also worth the tour.

The Buck County Historical Society/Fonthill/Moravian Tile Works (AKA the Mercer Mile) in Doylestown. It's three really bizarre poured concrete buildings all constructed by Henry Mercer at the beginning of the 20th century. His house, Fonthill, is my favorite of the bunch.

Byrn Athyn. I've never been out there, but the heir to the PPG fortune built a cathedral for the Swedenborgians and a mansion for himself, both in the Gothic style.

Founders Hall at Girard College: Apparently the school was required to retain all of Girard's personal possessions after his death. They are now on display in Founders Hall, which is open one Thursday a month. It is a rare glimps into life in the early 19th century.

The Ebenezer Maxwell mansion is a great Victorian house museum in Germantown.

Great ideas!

I've been to Bryn Athyn many times. The cathedral is gorgeous, I go to their Nativity play every Xmas. The other building is the mansion where the Pitcairns lived and it is now a museum with artifacts from ancient Egypt, Greece, the Far East- it's a stunning collection!

__________________
"I think that anything that begins to give people a sense of their own worth and dignity is God."
John Shelby Spong

Go Phillies!

Speaking of crazy little musuems, has anyone ever actually been in either the Shoe Museum or the Doll Museum?

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"Do I need to post these links thousands of times?" --bloosum

No I haven't! I am surprised the Shoe museum isn't more popular- so many women are "shoe crazy!"

__________________
"I think that anything that begins to give people a sense of their own worth and dignity is God."
John Shelby Spong

Go Phillies!

The American Swedish Museum in FDR park is another hidden treasure. But as with the Wagner Insititute, they can get confused and disoriented by actual visitors.

That reminds me...there's a Polish American museum in Olde City. Very small, but nice. And free.

__________________
"I think that anything that begins to give people a sense of their own worth and dignity is God."
John Shelby Spong

Go Phillies!

Its another cool place; at 7370 Central Avenue (Burholme Park) in the Northeast. Really interesting artwork as well as a collection of antiquities the Ryerss family collected during their lifetime. There's also a small pet cemetary on site, in addition to the lovely park.

One of the staff members snuck me up to the tower and I got one of the best views of Philadelphia I've ever seen. Its technically not open to the public, but make a nice donation and bond with the staff. Maybe you'll get lucky!

One of Philly's hidden treasures is right beyond Philly's #1 tourist attraction, the Rocky Steps. It is called the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Perhaps it is overlooked these days as it is a relic of a bygone era. All those people who run up those steps and look out at Philly's gleeming skyscrapers and hold up their hands in glee at the new Comcast tower should check the museum out.