Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts

Two blocks north of City Hall is the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA), a wonderful museum and teaching facility that was the first art school in the country (1805) and at one time the unquestioned leader of American Beaux Arts. After a major renovation in late 1994, the academy, housed in a stunning Frank Furness building, unveiled a major reinstallation of 300 works from the past 200 years. Another 2004-05 restoration effort brightened the jewel tones of the gorgeous, hand-painted decorative ceilings and the overall look of the landmark museum and school.

The ground floor houses an excellent bookstore, a cafe, and the academy's offices. A splendid staircase, designed by Furness, shines with red, gold, and blue. Each May, the annual academy school exhibition takes over the museum. The school itself moved to 1301 Cherry St. years ago, but has renovated the factory building to its north to recentralize operations.

As is evident from the PAFA galleries, such Early American painters as Gilbert Stuart, the Peale family, Washington Allston, and Benjamin West (America's first fine painter) congregated in Philadelphia, America's capital and wealthiest city. The main galleries feature works from the museum's collection of more than 6,000 canvases. The rotunda has been the scene of cultural events ever since Walt Whitman listened to concerts here. The adjoining rooms display works from the illustrious mid-19th-century years, when PAFA enjoyed its most innovative period.

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