Richard Flynn

Philadelphia, November 2009

Philadelphia: birthplace of the U.S. Constitution, home of a cracked bell, site of a disused gaol in various states of disrepair, and the battleground for a transit strike at the end of my visit.

Philadelphia City Hall. At the top of the tower you can see a statue of William Penn (the founder of Pennsylvania).
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Tourists at the Liberty Bell Center.
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The Liberty Bell is perhaps most famous for its crack, though no one is certain of how it came to be cracked.
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Inside Old City Hall, which also housed the Supreme Court before the foundation of Washington, D.C.
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Old City Hall, Philadelphia.
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Independence Hall, Philadelphia.
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My tour group in Independence Hall.
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Inside Independence Hall, in the room where the U.S. Constitution was signed.
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One of the wings in the East State Penitentiary.
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A door in the East State Penitentiary.
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A re-constructed cell in the East State Penitentiary. This is laid-out as it was when the prison was originally built, with each prisoner in solitary confinement. As prison population numbers went up, though, prisoners had to share cells.
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A marginally restored cell in the East State Penitentiary.
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In the East State Penitentiary.
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A wing of the East State Penitentiary in a state of ‘preserved ruin’.
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A wing of the East State Penitentiary in a state of ‘preserved ruin’.
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A memorial to the prisoners of the East State Penitentiary who served in the war, only one of whom died.
Autumn City Gaol Museum northamericatravel Prison Sign RHJF 20091102 1812
A dilapidated cell in the East State Penitentiary.
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Outside one of the wings of the East State Penitentiary.
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Outside one of the wings of the East State Penitentiary.
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In the East State Penitentiary.
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Part of the East State Penitentiary.
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Switches for the electric chair in the East State Penitentiary.
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Outside one of the wings of the East State Penitentiary.
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A prison barbershop in the East State Penitentiary.
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The cell occupied by Al Capone—in relative luxury—during his short detention at the East State Penitentiary.
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Part of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
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Inside the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
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Inside the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
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Inside the Philadelphia Museum of Art: the drawing-room from Lansdowne House in London (c. 1766–75), designed by Robert Adam (1728–92).
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Looking towards downtown Philadelphia from the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
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Cars going past Philadelphia suburban station on the first day of the week-long SEPTA transit strike.
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News crews gathered in Philadelphia to report on the increased traffic on the first day of the SEPTA transit strike.
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