Graffiti in the Fishtown neighborhood
Liberty Bell , the bell that symbolizes the struggle for the independence of USA , has served to keep her on the traveling radar. Until now. The name of Philly resonates today with its own force beyond history and film topics.
philadelphia walks with pride being the city where the United States was born, boasts Declaration of Independence, past capital and even the cradle of the Constitution. Also assumes to be the city of Rocky, the one of Tom Hanks and Antonio Banderas and, if they hurry us, the one of Will Smith before being 'promoted' to Fresh Prince of Bel Air. But he doesn't settle.
Philadelphia architecture detail
It lacks the obviousness of other destinations. You don't need it either. aware of its appeal among experienced globetrotters, those who allow themselves to travel kilometers to, for example, visit one of the largest Rodin collections outside of Paris or simply photograph Al Capone's cell.
He does not live off the traveler, but welcomes him with open arms. You know, because of being the city of brotherly love. It welcomes you in some streets where it is possible to wander without bumping into a souvenir shop at every step; and where development is designed by and for its inhabitants. Those who daily add new neighbors, pushed many of them by the prohibitive standard of living of New York. The Big Apple's shadow is long, but perhaps not long enough to compete with the ravages of gentrification.
We escaped from that shadow as soon as the Norwegian plane touched down at JFK. The hour and a half journey by train It was coming to an end when we began to intuit what they would confirm for us later.
“There are so many young people living in Philadelphia and working in New York. It's much more affordable and has the charm of being historic. It is one of the oldest things you can find in the United States and that gives it a lot of character, a lot of tradition”. who speaks is Anne Calderon, soloist of the Pennsylvania Ballet, who knew nothing of Philadelphia until she moved to the city five years ago, when Angel Corella he became the artistic director of the company.
The dancers Ana Calderón and Pau Pujol in front of the City Hall building
Corella knew something more about his future destination, to which he arrived with the aim of raising the company to an international level. "I didn't stop to think too much about the past: I thought about what the Pennsylvania Ballet was going to represent, but always respecting its history."
Thus, new ballets arrived that the company had never done and that end each performance with the audience applauding enthusiastically. “People stay, they stand up, they scream, they say bravos, they make noise”, breaking with that idea of classic with which ballet is usually associated.
outside of downtown Merriam Theatre, where the Pennsylvania Ballet performs, there is also life. “One finds in many American cities that the downtown is almost always all offices and most of the city is outside. In Philadelphia, though, you feel like it's a city, a city."
To our left, in the Broad Street, William Penn, the founder of Philly, continues to watch over its inhabitants from the top of the imposing tower of the City Hall, the building from the end of the 19th century that, with its classic design and full of ornaments, provides an authentic touch to a skyline that is increasingly dominated by the steel of its skyscrapers.
'The Father of Modern Philadelphia', mural dedicated to Edmund Bacon
We listen to Angel. Philadelphia is not for crossing names off a list, it is for walking it and see how, in that renewal, more than three decades ago art had a lot to say.
We talk about 1984 , year in which the project Mural Arts Philadelphia began its journey as part of the anti-graffiti network that operated in the city. There was its creator, the artist Jane Golden , trying to convince graffiti artists to redirect their know-how towards projects that add value to the community, without intuiting that in 2019 her program would add nearly 4,000 murals and would have become one of the hallmarks of Philadelphia.
Through color, its authors have been reflecting the character, concerns and changes in each neighborhood. Discovering them is almost a gesture of trust, as if Philly didn't want to have secrets from anyone. Of course, for that you have to know how to read them.
Julie Curson she is retired and dedicates herself to guiding visitors on tours of the murals. Armed with documents and photographs, she makes us understand the motto of the project, that 'art causes change'. From a mural dedicated to the LGTBI community, it leads us to another inspired by women and work, to then move on to a third that claims the importance of water and arrive at a fourth that criticizes the invisibility suffered by the homeless.
Then, Julie makes us look at a discreet intervention that we are struck by the bits of mirror scattered on the wall . With this detail, she puts us on the track of the ** Magic Gardens, ** a strident genius halfway between the tacky and the artistic cheek.
were born in the 60s, although they weren't called Magic Gardens then. By then, these huge mosaics made from bits of tiles, glass, mirrors and even bicycle wheels and dolls were the work with which Isaiah Zagar began to decorate the walls of South St. Without asking permission and before recycling and reusing were obvious in our day to day.
Although his murals are scattered throughout the city, the epicenter of his work is found in the number 1020 of this street, with two interior galleries and a labyrinthine outdoor space in which to wander among creations that demonstrate, once again, that in Philadelphia there is artistic life beyond Benjamin Franklin Avenue, with Rodin's The Thinker keeping an eye on lovers of French Impressionism and Post-Impressionism on their way to Barnes Foundation ; or moviegoers looking for Rocky's statue next to the stairs of the **Art Museum.**
Geno's Steaks sandwich joint
We opt for artistic confusion and overflow, as he does, to the south, where a few blocks from the 9th Street enough for us to get to the intersection with the avenue Passyunk.
There, as if it were a duel, they stand face to face ** Pat's King of Steaks and Geno's Steak ,** in a perennial struggle for theirs to be recognized as the best cheesesteak, the forcefulness made sandwich based on bread, thin strips of beef steak and melted cheese.
From the sidewalk, we contemplate the frenetic rhythm of their kitchens, which cannot afford to falter, especially if we must add to the usual rivalry competition from the occasional newcomer that Bon Appétit magazine raised to the altars of the best new restaurants in 2016.
Of Cristina Martinez they say at his **South Philly Barbecue** he makes the America's best barbecue. We are talking about a typical lamb meat stew from Capulhuac, which she prepares in a traditional way and with ingredients very similar to those used in that Mexican town from which she comes.
Chef Cristina Martinez
“She is the best because she is barbaric” , she jokes with us to later clarify that if she is good it is because “I put everything that is me into her”. And that's saying a lot if we consider that her life includes, among other things, two crossings through the desert to cross from Mexico to the United States , where she now resides without papers or signs that they are going to be granted.
Her story has featured in an episode of the Netflix documentary series Chef's Table and a Univision podcast. Her expertise in her kitchen has earned her numerous awards whom she downplays, but who she uses to make visible her situation and that of so many people.
For Cristina, barbecue is his life "And she allows me, at a time when I don't have my family with me, to imagine her in the diners who arrive at the restaurant."
And each time they come from further afield, attracted by her barbecue, in particular, and by a bustling food scene, usually. Because Philadelphia tastes good, getting better and more varied. Her restaurants are a journey through the cuisines of the world that It has two essential stops.
Tacos at South Philly Barbecue
**Zahav is the pretty boy in town.** In fact, he's been since his chef, MichaelSolomon, he opened it ten years ago to put on the table the unmissable of modern Israeli cuisine.
Suraya , for its part, does not enjoy Zahav's seniority, but it does share a Mediterranean air. One year has been enough for this restaurant, which is both a shop and a café, to become the new place to be in the city. Humus, tabbouleh, baba ganush, kebabs... give shape to a proposal with a Lebanese accent that many of Philly's residents have not yet had time to try. Yes, they have flirted, instead, with their garden, where it is possible enjoy a drink with live music.
The hot spot in trendy Fishtown. And it is that Fishtown has already superseded in that of being cool the quintessential hipster neighborhood, Northern Liberties, shaking off in the last decade the bad fame which led it to be the preferred setting for the many police series shot in the city.
On its sidewalks you can already see cafes that make beauty and instagrammable a rising value; shops that mix vintage and eccentric as a claim and pioneering businesses, such as the Philadelphia Distilling gin distillery, that in 2005 he chose to give a second life to one of those large abandoned industrial buildings, thus paving the way for all those that would come later.
Vintage items in one of the Fishtown stores
From its windows you can see that yes, Fishtown may not have the distinguished style of buildings like the Independence Hall, the charm of the Old City with those little brick houses or the cobblestones that they boast so much about in the charming Elfreth's Alley, the oldest residential street in the United States ; but it is perceived that things happen here, that its energy, for the moment concentrated along frankford avenue, threatens to spread to the rest of the neighborhood as it has done so far the Delaware River.
There, some of the old docks have been converted into spaces for artists, markets and bars; others have been reserved for events and some are now walking areas with Spectacular views of its Benjamin Franklin Bridge.
A bustle that contrasts with the quiet banks of its tributary, the Schuylkill, that in its flow through the other end of the city gives calm sunsets with views of the photogenic Boathouses, the houses that have housed the city's rowing clubs since the 19th century.
It is at that magical moment, when the sun begins to go down and the lights come on, when we get ready to cross to the other side of the river. You know, to the west, in that place where "he grew up and lived without paying much attention to the police" the prince we told you about at the beginning.
Boathouses on the banks of the Schuylkill
WHERE TO SLEEP
** Kimpton Hotel Palomar ** _(117 South 17th St) _
Art deco on the outside, classic in the rooms and cheeky in the works of art that decorate its interior. Contemplating the city's skyline from the bubbling Jacuzzi in your room will be your favorite pastime.
Four Seasons Philadelphia _(1N 19th St) _
Can you imagine climbing 60 floors in 45 seconds? Thus begins the experience in the new kid in town, who occupies the top floors of the Comcast Center, one of the tallest buildings in Philadelphia.
Wm. Mulherin's Sons _(1355 N. Front St) _
Four large apartments with exposed brick walls, sash windows to look out of, vintage furniture and that urban, albeit noisy, appeal of sleeping next to the train tracks. Don't leave without trying the brunch.
ROOST East Market _(1199 Ludlow St) _
It is already the third concept to open in Philadelphia, after Midtown and Rittenhouse: luxury serviced apartments to which, in this case, you must add a fabulous swimming pool and a privileged location. The decoration causes instant crushes.
***** _This report was published in **number 132 of Condé Nast Traveler Magazine (October)**. Subscribe to the printed edition (11 printed issues and a digital version for €24.75, by calling 902 53 55 57 or from our website). The October issue of Condé Nast Traveler is available in its digital version to enjoy on your preferred device. _
Jacuzzi in the room of the Kimpton Palomar hotel