New York & the Mid-Atlantic Trips 2 - Full PDF eBook

(Elliott) #1

any cash, the massive
casino built on the site
of the former factory
(it takes its design cues
from its utilitarian past)
is worth a drive-by.


4 p127


The Drive » It’s only 30 miles
south through the heart of Bucks
County to Doylestown. You’ll
pass by Nockamixon State Park,
a large lake with a few miles of
hiking trails, shortly before Rte
412 turns into Rte 611.


6 Doylestown
In 1898–99, painters
Edward Redfield and
William Langson
Lathrop moved to New
Hope and co-founded
an artists’ colony that
changed American
painting. Redfield, in
particular, became
famous for painting
outside (en plein air) in
winter storms so bad he
had to tie his easel to
a tree. He worked fast,
not even sketching first,
creating moody, muted
landscapes in a day. For
the whole story on the
New Hope School of
painters and other top
flight American artists,
head to Doylestown’s
Michener Art Museum
(%215-340-9800; http://www.
michenermuseum.org; 138 S
Pine St; adult/child $15/7.50;
h10am-4:30pm Tue-Fri, to
5pm Sat, noon-5pm Sun).
Housed in an impressive
looking stone building, a
refurbished prison from
the 1880s, the museum is
named after the popular


Pulitzer Prize–winning
author James A Michener
(Tales of the South Pacific
is probably his most
well known work) who
supported the museum.
A small permanent
exhibition includes
Michener’s writing desk
and other objects from
his Bucks County home,
including a collection of
this inveterate traveler’s
personal road maps
to cities and countries
around the world.

The Drive » Continue south
on Rte 611 to I-276 east; a
shortcut to I-95 south, which
takes you to Penn’s Landing,
is to exit onto US 1 toward
Philadelphia and then take PA-
63 east. Otherwise, keep going
on I-276 east until you can take
another exit for I-95 south.

7 Philadelphia
Penn’s Landing –
Philadelphia’s waterfront
area along the Delaware
River between Market
and Lombard Sts, where
William Penn landed
on a barge in 1682 –
was a very active port
area from the early
18th-century into the
20th. Today most of
the excitement is about
boarding booze cruises,
or simply strolling along
the water’s edge. The 1.8-
mile Benjamin Franklin
Bridge, the world’s
largest suspension bridge
when completed in 1926,
spans the Delaware
River and dominates
the view. Check out the

Independence Seaport
Museum (%215-413-8655;
http://www.phillyseaport.org; 211 S
Columbus Blvd; adult/child
$13.50/10; h10am-5pm, to
7pm Thu-Sat summer; c;
gNo 21, 25, 76) which
highlights Philadelphia’s
role as an immigration
hub; its shipyard closed
in 1995 after 200 years.
Old City – the area
bounded by Walnut, Vine,
Front and 6th Sts – picks
up where Independence
National Historical
Park (p138) leaves off.
And, along with Society
Hill, Old City was early
Philadelphia. The 1970s
saw revitalization,
with many warehouses
converted into
apartments, galleries
and small businesses.
Today it’s a quaint place
for a stroll, especially
along tiny, cobblestoned
Elfreth’s Alley – its
32-well-preserved brick
row houses make up
what’s believed to be
the oldest continuously
occupied street in the
USA. Stop into Elfreth’s
Alley Museum (%215-
574-0560; http://www.elfrethsalley.
org; No 126; adult/child $5/2;
h10am-5pm Wed-Sat, from
noon Sun) which was built
in 1755 by blacksmith and
alley namesake Jeremiah
Elfreth; it’s been restored
and furnished to its 1790
appearance.
For another look at
Philadelphia, see p138 or
follow the walking tour
on p176.

54 p127


TRIP HIGHLIGHT

NEW.JERSEY.&.PENNSYLVANIA.TRIPS.

9
.BUCKS COUNTY & AROUND
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