Christ Church, Philadelphia ((And Betsy Ross too!))

I was born in Minnesota and raised in San Jose California. My boys were both born in Oregon, in towns that had their beginnings in the mid to late 1800s. To refer to something as “OLD” there has a completely different meaning than what it is to refer to something “OLD” on the East Coast! I learned that when we moved to South Carolina and visited Charleston for the first time.

The dates didn’t just start in the 1800s, they started 300 years before then! And loving history like I do, I found it fascinating to learn the details of what was founded when.

I get chills when I visit buildings that have been around since the early 1700s, such as Christ Church in Philadelphia.

Can you read this plaque? The bells that proclaimed our Independence rang from here. They rang for freedom on July 4, 1776, but they had hung there since 1754 – 22 years!

What I think is amazing is that this is still an active church, not just a historical site.

I loved the light from the windows inside, and the box pews!

This was the George Washington Family pew box..the name is on the brass plaque:

I sat down for a minute and just pondered and thought about what life was like then…The patriots didn’t KNOW they were going to win. They could have just as easily lost? How different would life be now if that were the case?

The light was kind of bright at the front altar. I really liked that the church was not overwhelmingly overrun with stained glass. The clear windows let in so much more light.

Back of the church toward the organ loft. I wish someone had been playing. I would have loved to listen to that!

As was the custom in the day, there are graves in the floor of the church, down the aisles. I love the backwards “N” in November! This parishioner died in 1734.

The grave of John Penn. Anyone know what the “XLI” at the top means? And in the picture before this one it says “LII” at the top. I have no clue….interesting? huh?

This is my picture from across the street…but it doesn’t show you the steeple like the picture at the beginning of the post does….What an awesome visit!

From here, it wasn’t too far to head down to Betsy Ross’s house….

That’s it folks! It’s just a tiny little thing, stuck in between more modern buildings! I almost couldn’t get this picture, there was a huge tour bus parked in front of it!

This tour did charge a fee, but it was worth it for me……It’s a self guided thing, you read the signs on the walls to see what is what. No picture taking was allowed. She was a remarkable woman, and I bet she would love to see what we do with fabric and machines NOW!

Next Stop? Elphreth’s Alley!

Elphreth’s Alley is America’s OLDEST residential street! And it is still lived in today!

The row houses are adorable, to say the least…..it was just like stepping back in time to walk down this street!

Look at the cute red cellar doors!

I loved the display of window boxes and blooming garden containers!

Hard to get persepctive here too, the street is very narrow and the two rows of houses face each other….

This was in walking distance of where I was meeting up with Elsie Campbell and her son for dinner!

It was the perfect end to a perfect day of sight seeing, and we enjoyed a terrific Mediterranean meal and talking about everything we could come up with! Her son was a real trooper for hanging out with us “old ladies” and we really had a great time.

I loved this visit to Philly, and I know I will be back. Already there have been so many posts saying things like “Where are your pics of the Rocky statue!?” “Did you see the Love Statue??” and I know there were other things I missed that I will have to catch next time….and I will!