With such an illustrious past, Philadelphia has to plan especially well to keep the best and most attractive of three centuries alive, while also upgrading for the future. The future is challenged by finances and the heightened security concerns of this decade present more hurdles to sightseeing in America's most historic square mile.
Here's a look at some late-breaking developments:
The Philadelphia International Airport (www.phl.org) has already completed new terminals, better shopping, and a new commuter runway. In May 2003, the PIA opened a new 4-level terminal, A-West, with 13 wide-body international gates, 60 ticket counters and 11 restaurants. However, some of those new concourses have been blocked off entirely due to security concerns. Security has also made picking up taxis or meeting cars more of a challenge than ever before.
AirTran Airways (800/AIR-TRAN; www.airtran.com), which is second only to Southwest as America's leading budget carrier, recently added twice-daily service to Boston's Logan Airport.
A project to develop shops and offices alongside the handsome but lonely Amtrak Penn Station at 30th Street looks like it's lifting off.
Cruise boats are finally coming back to the city, with 16 cruises per year sailing to Bermuda, the Caribbean and New England/Canada from Pier 1, located near the Navy Yard at the south tip of the city. Contact CruisePhilly (215/462-6790; www.cruisephilly.com) for information.
The city and state belt-tightening for 2003 and 2004 is translating into fewer bus routes and more sporadic service on buses and trams, although cuts will most likely be minimal on popular tourist routes.
Where to Stay
The region's building boom of the 1990s has slowed, leaving 17,000 beds in its wake. Many accommodations are available at deep discounts these days, given the 50% average occupancy.
The major new hotel is the Hyatt Regency Philadelphia at Penn's Landing, 201 S. Columbus Boulevard (215/928-1234; parkphiladelphia.hyatt.com) on the Delaware waterfront, which boasts Keating's restaurant, located on the riverbank terrace, and immediate access to I-95. The two really spectacular rehabs are the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, 10 Avenue of the Arts (S. Broad St), (215/523-8000; www.ritzcarlton.com), housed in a Pantheon-like historic bank next to City Hall, and the Loews Philadelphia Hotel, 1200 Market St. (215/627-1200; www.loewshotels.com), which occupies a classic 1932 Art Deco skyscraper opposite the Convention Center. The Conde Nast Traveler 2003 "Gold List" highlights the Ritz-Carlton (see above) and the Four Seasons as the best lodgings in town.
Where to Dine
Philadelphia is a wonderful dining city -- number 7 in the country, says John Mariani of Esquire Magazine -- but it's light on innate glamour. So top restaurateurs are starting to adopt the Yankee strategy of paying top dollar to import talent like Masaharu Morimoto (of the famed Nobu) for Morimoto, 723 Chestnut St. (215/413-9070) and Douglas Rodriguez for Alma de Cuba, 1623 Walnut St. (215/988-1799). A new local hotspot is Lacroix at the Rittenhouse, 210 W. Rittenhouse Square, (215/790-2533), one of the area's best French restaurants, run by a chef who jumped ship from the Four Seasons Hotel. The popularity of comfort food and '50s style is obvious at Stephen Starr's Jones, 700 Chestnut St. (215/223-5663), which serves retro cuisine.
Exploration of international tastes continues with spots like Guillermo Pernot's romantic Latin-American/fusion Pasion! at 211 S. 15th St. (215/875-9895). Django, 526 S. 4th St. (215/922-7151) has rocketed to the top of the semi-secret, affordable gem list with an inventive European menu; BYO wine, though. Restaurant theatricality is exemplified at the retro-futuristic Pod, 3636 Sansom St. in West Philadelphia (215/387-1803), which started serving weekday lunch in January 2003; and the shimmering and very chic Buddakan, 325 Chestnut St. (215/574-9440). Both of these restaurants have cuisine that stands up to the surroundings. The venerable Monte Carlo Living Room, 150 South St. (215/925-2220) has exchanged classic Northern Italian cuisine for contemporary French cooking, presented in a bold new airy setting.
Chefs move around a lot (maybe too much for loyalty and consistency), but recent shifts are re-energizing the classic Le Bec-Fin, 1523 Walnut St. (215/567-1000).
Philadelphia's floating restaurant, the 1904 4-masted ship Moshulu (215/923-2500), has just reopened off the Penn's Landing Marina, with a South Seas decor, four bars and contemporary American cuisine.
What to See and Do
All eyes are on the new National Constitution Center, 525 Arch St. (215/923-0004 or www.constitutioncenter.org), which opens on July 4, 2003, and promises an incredible exhibit about this amazing document, the root of America's achievements.
Since Memorial Day weekend in May 2003, Ride The Ducks (215/227-DUCK www.phillyducks.com), an amphibious sightseeing tour aboard a converted 1945 Army vessel, takes passengers on a land-to-water tour through Old City, the historic district, and South Street before plunging into the Delaware River alongside Penn's Landing. Tours depart from 6th and Chestnut streets.
The stretch of Broad Street south of City Hall has been renamed the Avenue of the Arts, and is anchored by the majestic glass-enclosed Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts (215/893-1999 for tickets), at Broad and Spruce streets, which joins the Academy of Music a block north as one of the nation's leading hall complexes. The Kimmel Center's sound is improving month by month, as the Philadelphia Orchestra becomes more accustomed to the venue. City Hall has not recovered from an April 2002 flood that destroyed City Council chambers, but the view from the top is still superb.
The Philadelphia Museum of Art, 26th Street and the Ben Franklin Parkway (215/763-8100) just celebrated its 125th anniversary by acquiring a huge insurance headquarters across the street, so look for more gallery and office space. The gardens around the museum are being restored, and the beautiful classic Waterworks along the Schuylkill River will hold a terraced restaurant by summer 2003.
For fans who make the journey to South Philadelphia for sports, Veterans Stadium has been demolished; the Eagles will play in the new 66,000-seat Lincoln Financial Field starting in the fall of 2003, with HDTV video boards and a 100,000-square-foot public plaza. The Phillies will occupy a more intimate and modern baseball park (not yet corporately named), seating 43,000, from April 2004. The latter has cool features such as Ashburn Alley, an open-air concourse, and an open steel seating bowl, so that the city outside can catch glimpses of the field and vice versa.
Shopping
The top shopping news is yet more expansion in both size and quality at the King of Prussia Court and Plaza (610/265-5727), a 450-store behemoth near the junction of suburban routes 202 and I-276. This mall boasts top national chain restaurants, movie theaters, and even a climbing wall. In town, the Old City neighborhood, just north and east of Independence Hall, has become a mecca for contemporary and 20th century crafts, art and specialty services.
Rittenhouse Row, especially the stretch of Walnut Street just east of Rittenhouse Square, is looking spiffy again, with stores like Burberry's, Joan Shepp Boutique, Knit Wit, and Lagos jewelry. Town Home, 126 S. 19th St., opened in February 2003 and offers stylish home accessories for urban dwellers.
Night Life
Look to the Avenue of the Arts as the local capital of classic performances. The Philadelphia Orchestra performs in the cello-shaped Verizon Hall of the Kimmel Center (215/893-1999), and great theater is presented at the restored movie palace now known as the Harold Prince Music Theatre, 1412 Chestnut St. (215/972-1000). The blocks of Old City contain small bars and great pubs like Silk City Lounge, 5th and Spring Garden St. (215/592-8838), but the major nightclubs are right on the Delaware waterfront piers. Take a taxi or water taxi in summer to visit waterfront clubs like Maui Entertainment Complex, at Pier 53, 1143 N. Delaware Ave. (215/423-8116) and Rock Lobster, 221 N. Delaware Ave. (215/627-7625). KatManDu, an old favorite, has closed.
Side Trips
The 2000 census reported that the population of Lancaster County shot up from 193,000 to 323,000 in the past decade; all this new development and growth translates into traffic jams along Route 30 in Amish county, even while bus routes on Red Rose Transit are cut.
Moonlight in New Hope, which showed great culinary promise in 2000, went dark in spring 2003.