Photo by Will Brown, courtesy Free Library of Philadelphia
A daguerreotype portrait of Edgar Allan Poe in the rare book division of the Free Library of Philadelphia
Courtesy Free Library of Philadelphia
Charles Dickens’s pet raven, Grip, and the inspiration behind Poe’s best-known work is on view at the Free Library.
The City of Brotherly Love fêtes its darker side.
Philadelphia isn’t the only city staking a claim to Edgar Allen Poe in 2009 — there’s also Boston, where he was born, and Baltimore, where he died in 1849, aged 40 and miserable. Some might argue that for a writer whose raw material was diabolism and eerie suspense, the attention should go to the city that claims Poe’s corpse. But better to save visits to his grave in Baltimore for the 160th anniversary of his death in October. More important is Poe’s 200th birthday this month, and the place to celebrate in early 2009 is Philly, where Poe enjoyed six (1838–44) of his happiest and most productive years, turning out some of his best short stories and criticism while editing two magazines.
At the rare book division of the Free Library is “Quoth the Raven: A 200 Year Remembrance of the Life and Legacy of Edgar Allan Poe,” on view through February 13 for hard-core Poe fans who want to see autographed manuscripts, including “The Raven” and “Murders in the Rue Morgue,” and first editions of “Tamerlane” and “The Balloon Hoax.” The show’s star is a stuffed bird, Grip, Charles Dickens’s pet raven and the inspiration behind Poe’s best-known work, which he started in Philadelphia but published after moving to New York. (While you’re at the library be sure to save some time for the four recently rediscovered banners by Alexander Calder, on view until March.)
Poe had several addresses during his stay in Philadelphia, but only one is still around today. For the bicentennial, the Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site, otherwise known as Poe House, located at Seventh and Spring Garden Streets, just reopened with several new exhibits. Poe lived in the house for about a year and a half, producing works including “Black Cat” — a trip to the basement, which remains largely unchanged, will resonate with those who remember the story’s creepy details. In the houses (the site extends to the one next door, though neither is furnished with original pieces) visitors can listen to readings of Poe’s work by such modern-day scaremongers as Vincent Price, Basil Rathbone, and Christopher Walken. There’s also a new exhibit about the writer’s life and work in Philadelphia, as well as an interactive exhibit for children involving Poe’s brain.
Of course no one can know what was really going on in Poe’s brain during his years in Philadelphia, but a few attractions founded around that time might provide some insight into his influences.
SHRINE OF SAINT JOHN NEUMANN
Fans of Poe’s story “The Tell-Tale Heart,” which was written in Philadelphia, should add to their itinerary a visit to the National Shrine of Saint John Neumann, at the Parish of Saint Peter the Apostle not far from the Poe house. Named the Bishop of Philadelphia at age 41 in 1852, the German-born John Neumann died near his then-new cathedral on Logan Square in 1860 and was buried in a basement crypt at St. Peter that drew ever-increasing numbers of pilgrims over the years as many claimed miracles resulted from their visits. Pope Paul VI declared John Neumann “blessed” in 1963, and the church exhumed his remains and placed him in a glass altar in a lower church, where worshippers now gaze upon his actual corpse during mass. He was named a saint in 1977.
1019 North Fifth Street
215/627-3080
stjohnneumann.org
EASTERN STATE PENITENTIARY
Further west, toward the Philadelphia Museum of Art, is Philadelphia’s most haunted attraction, the Eastern State Penitentiary. When it opened in 1829, the building was the most technologically advanced in the country — it had electricity and running water before the White House did — and its “hub and spoke” or panopticon layout, in which one guard can survey several cell blocks from a central hub, has served as a model for some 300 other U.S. prisons using its solitary-confinement or so-called “Pennsylvania System” (it also served as the setting for the insane asylum in the 1995 film Twelve Monkeys). Over 75,000 inmates served time there before it closed in 1971, including Al Capone and Willie Sutton. Dress warmly: The crumbling structure is unheated and the tour is largely outside.
22nd St. and Fairmount Ave.
215/236-3300
easternstate.org
MUTTER MUSEUM
Even creepier than St. John Neumann and Eastern State is the Mütter Museum, founded in the mid-19th century as a museum of “pathological anatomy.” Highlights include a wall of skulls labeled with cause of death, a collection of objects removed from people’s throats, a human colon that grew to 40 pounds before causing its owner’s death, and an exhibit on the world-famous 19th-century conjoined twins Chang and Eng, all in a beautifully appointed setting.
19 South 22nd Street
215/563-3737 x211
collphyphil.org
MUSEUM OF MOURNING ART
About 20 minutes outside of Philadelphia in Drexel Hill is this odd little museum at the 18th-century Arlington cemetery. Highlights include an exhibit of mourning art and other objects related to George Washington’s death, a 400-page instructional manual on how to get into heaven, objects engraved with emblems of death, and an exhibit on the elaborate mourning practices of the 17th and 18th centuries. Kid-friendly. By appointment only.
2900 State Road
Drexel Hill, PA 19026
610/259-5800
gophila.com
COMPASS: PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA
Stay:
FOUR SEASONS
Close to the Free Library and the museum, the Four Seasons in Philly is a healthy dose of profuse elegance (rich carpets, stuffed chairs, polished woods). Best of all might be the Fountain Restaurant, whose menu of French dishes, like muscovy duck, continue to bring in praise year after year.
1 Logan Square
215/963-1500
fourseasons.com
HOTEL PALOMAR
Scheduled to open in the fall, the 234-room Palomar will occupy a renovated Art Deco building off tony Rittenhouse Square.
17th and Sansom Streets
kimptonhotels.com
LE MERIDIEN
In July, Starwood will open a Le Meridien in a renovated YMCA building. Originally designed in 1912 by architect Horace Trumbauer, the hotel will have 202 rooms and a 90-seat restaurant.
1421 Arch St.
starwoodhotels.com
Eat:
BUTCHER & SINGER
Philadelphia is experiencing a steakhouse renaissance right now. The latest to join the fray is star restaurateur Stephen Starr’s Butcher & Singer, which opened last fall. The menu offers a certain Old World bounty: numerous steak options, shellfish platters, stuffed hash browns, creamed spinach. And for dessert, there’s — what else? — baked Alaska.
1500 Walnut St.
215/732-4444
butcherandsinger.com
CHIFA
In February, chef Jose Garces will open a fourth restaurant in Philly (Distrito, Amada, and Tinto are his other spots). The menu will offer small plates fusing Peruvian and Cantonese cuisines, and a large ceviche bar will anchor the dining room.
707 Chestnut St.
EARTH BREAD & BREWERY
Opened last October in the Mount Airy neighborhood west of Center City, this health-minded brewpub makes its own old-fashioned gruit ale and offers a thoughtful selection of other beers. There’s also wine and a food menu with salads, cheese plates, and flatbread pizzas made in the hand-built, wood-fired oven.
7136 Germantown Ave.
215/242-6666
earthbreadbrewery.com
OSTERIA
Italian-trained chef Marc Vetri’s newest spot, in a converted factory space a bit north of downtown, serves such rustic Italian dishes as chicken liver rigatoni and braised rabbit with pancetta, sage, and polenta.
640 N. Broad St.
215/763-0920
osteriaphilly.com
STANDARD TAP
This neighborhood bar and gastropub in the hip Northern Liberties neighborhood has a great selection of wine and local microbrews and a largely local menu that changes daily, all served up with a dose of Philly attitude.
901 N. 2nd St.
215/238-0630
standardtap.com
ZAHAV
Chef Michael Solomonov’s new restaurant serves “modern Israeli,” a description that hardly does justice to the enticing menu of carefully prepared mezes (small plates), such as burmuelos (leak and mint fritters with sheep’s cheese and honey), basturma (air-cured beef, garlic fenugreek), Moroccan pastilla (rabbit, prunes, almonds), and varieties of hummus and kebabs.
237 St. James Pl.
215/625-8800
zahavrestaurant.com
See:
PHILADELPHIA FLOWER SHOW
In early March, the largest and most important indoor exhibition of flowers in the world takes place at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, with acres of stunning flowering specimens.
12th and Arch Sts.
theflowershow.com
PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF ART
The museum has a good list of exhibits for 2009, including a show about Cézanne and his influence (February 26 – May 17), a grouping of large Titian and Dürer etchings (January 31 – April 26), a show of 45 photographs by Japanese lensman Daido Moriyama (February 28 – June 30), and an Arshile Gorky retrospective (October 2009 – January 2010).
26th St. at Benjamin Franklin Pkwy.
215/763-8100
philamuseum.org
Hear:
THE PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA
In early March, Vladimir Jurowski, music director of the London Philharmonic, will conduct a program of early works by Mahler and Berg, including Mahler’s Das klagende lied (for soloists, chorus, and orchestra) and Berg’s first symphonic work, which was written under Mahler’s direction.
Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
123 S Broad St.
215/670-2300
kimmelcenter.org
Shop:
THIRD STREET HABIT
Come to this boutique to browse labels like Sonia Rykiel and Sass and Bide, or just lounge on the large red velvet couch and admire the racks — it’s that kind of place.
153 N. Third St.
215/925-5455
thirdstreethabit.com
MINIMA
Eugenie Perret’s furniture studio and gallery carries such modern designers as Marc Newson, Piero Lissoni, and Philippe Starck. The current exhibition has paintings and photo works by Margery Amdur.
118 N. Third St.
215/922-2002
minima.us
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