www.philadelphiaexpressed.com

Where to start? There are the practical improvements like the lightning rod, then there are the societies and groups he helped found like the Library Company of philadelphia (not to be confused with the Free Library, they aren’t the same), Fire Department, Insurance Companies, University of Pennsylvania (the first secular university in the U.S.), Pennsylvania hospital.

For good ideas, I suggest this free podcast from iTunes U. Ben Franklin and the World of the Enlightenment, from Stanford University. It’s free and it’s actually really interesting. Ben was a pretty interesting guy.

http://deimos3.apple.com/WebObjects/Core.woa/Browse/itunes.stanford.edu.1352800252.01352800254

Also check out this funny, and entirely true, short podcast about Ben Franklin’s Death-ray (or at least that’s what the British thought

http://thememorypalace.us/2009/04/episode-9/

I’m doing this research b/c I’m thinking of moving and I want to live in an area that offers big city living. I think the ideal “big city” not only has a large, dense population with a sprawling metro area, but also great nightlife/culture and restaurants, a bustling job market, big time sports, a “global city” reputation w/ lots of diversity, good public transportation and is also a tourist destination. With these parameters in mind, I created a five-tiered list of my own that classifies U.S. cities in terms of their urban appeal. Any feedback or arguments? Which cities should have made my list but didn’t?

Tier 1
-New York
-Los Angeles
-Chicago

Tier 2
-Boston
-San Francisco
-Washington, DC
-Miami
-Dallas

Tier 3
-Houston
-philadelphia
-Atlanta
-Seattle
-San Diego

Tier 4
-Denver
-Phoenix
-Minneapolis
-Baltimore
-Las Vegas
-Detroit

Tier 5
-Pittsburgh
-Cleveland
-Austin
-St Louis
-Portland, OR
-Charlotte
-Nashville
-Milwaukee
-New Orleans

Houston is definitely Tier 2. Boston isn’t. Aside from the Boston Pops and lots of strip joints there isn’t a whole lot to do there (you see the historic stuff once and then it is BTDT).

The problem with your Tier 1 cities is that they’re all incredibly expensive to live in. Houston and Dallas are not.

I’m looking for a hotel in philadelphia that is close to some good night life for a 30 y.o. guy.

If you are looking at website for hotels, go for hotels in Olde City/Society Hill or Penn’s Landing. There are a lot of bars and restaurants in that area.

I am going to philadelphia for vacation and wanted to know what there was to do there.

It depends on what you like to do of course. Plenty of shopping, historic sites, museums, theater, restaurants, etc. To see what’s going on in and around Philly:

http://www.visitphilly.com/

A couple of good options are the Franklin Instsitue, The Mutter Museum, the Constitution Center, Independence Hall, Rittenhouse Square, Phila Museum of Art.

My family is planning a 4-5 day trip to philadelphia, planning to see the Independence National Park and the Franklin Science Center. Other possible sites would be the Philly Zoo and Valley Forge. What area should we be looking at for a convenient hotel?

Downtown is the most convenient for those, since that’s where most of them are. Independence and Franklin are both in the core center of things, and the zoo a short trip away. Since you’re thinking Valley Forge, you might also look at hotels out that way, there are a lot in the Valley Forge/King of Prussia area, but you’ll have one nasty commute into the city from out there unless you avoid rush hours.

A collage of 23 years of many great and depressing sports moments in philadelphia history. Will we ever have another Champion? Please enjoy.

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In my recent trip to philadelphia for a class, I squeezed in as much touristy experience as possible! I hope you enjoy the highlight reel.

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Showcase of local businesses who were voted best bar and best bowling alley in philadelphia during the 2007 HotList with Fox Television. Powered by CityVoter.

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Just some short clips of the coolest places in Philly.

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Music video by Bruce Springsteen performing Streets Of philadelphia. (C) 1993 Bruce Springsteen

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