BON JOUR PHILADELPHIE or " A Taste of France Walking Tour of Philadelphia"
John Necci, Temple University Law Library
(Please click on the photos for a larger version)
A cornucopia of Philadelphia architecture, artwork, history , business, and restaurants blend to create a French style ambience in the center of Philadelphia. Evoke the French experience by taking a stroll down our version of the Champs-Elysees, the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, named after the Eighteenth Century colonial statesman and ambassador to France.
Benjamin Franklin
Parkway
The Louvre - Paris 
City
Hall - Philadelphia
The Parkway was designed and embellished by French landscape artist Jacques Greber, based on plans by a number of architects including Phillipe Cret of the Ecole de Beaux Arts in Paris. It extends diagonally in a northwesterly direction, originating at Philadelphia's French Renaissance style City Hall. This Renaissance style is shared by the Louvre and the Hotel De Ville in Paris. If you walk up the Parkway, you will notice it is dotted with fountains and sculptures along the way and when it crosses 19th street, it borders the Free Library of Philadelphia and mirrors two sides of the Place de la Concorde.
Place de la Concorde - Paris
The Parkway - Philadelphia
Continue walking up the Parkway to 22nd street where you will pass the Rodin Museum, designed by Phillipe Cret and which houses the greatest collection of sculptures and drawings of August Rodin outside of Paris. The Parkway eases then past Thomas Eakins oval and is crowned by the majestic Philadelphia Museum of Art. Be sure to see the Museum's collections of works by Claude Monet, Edgar Degas and Paul Cezanne as well as many outstanding French Medieval and Renaissance works. There are also examples of exquisite French period furniture on display and many fine pieces of French decorative art.
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| The Thinker | Rodin Museum | Philadelphia Musem of Art |
When you are finished at the museum, walk north toward Kelly Drive and the entrance to Fairmount Park and you will see the golden statute of Jeanne D'Arc atop a gilded horse by French artist Emmanuel Fremiet. This is one of several statues that were cast from the same mold. Two others reside in Paris and Nancy, France. Fairmount park is itself chock full of sculptures and Kelly Drive was named after Philadelphia City Councilman John B. Kelly Jr, the brother of Princess Grace of Monaco in the French Riviera.
Jeanne D'Arc - Paris
Jeanne D'Arc - Philadelphia
While you are in the immediate vicinity of the Art Museum, you can observe the Fairmount Water Works, the turbines of which were engineered by an early 19th Century Frenchman, Emile Camille Geyelin. He also designed the Girard Avenue Bridge a few blocks north.
Fairmount Water Works
Girard Avenue, north of Center City, was named after Stephen Girard, a French sea captain, who made Philadelphia his home. He established Girard College, and if you visit Founder's Hall library, you can read his letters and correspondence from Washington and Jefferson and also enjoy early American ship paintings and furniture. Founder's Hall shares the same classical style as the Madeleine Church in Paris.
Madeleine - Paris
Founder's
Hall - Philadelphia
Girard's furniture was supplied by Michael Bouvier, a French soldier and cabinet maker's son who set up a cabinet makers business himself in Philadelphia. His tomb can be seen at St. Mary's Church in the Society Hill Section of Philadelphia at 4th and Spruce. One of his most famous descendants was Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis. Bouvier also supplied furniture to Joseph Bonaparte, King of Sicily and Spain who resided at 206 South 9th Street after his brother's fall from power and before moving to New Jersey. On January 9, 2000, a historical marker was dedicated and placed next to the house.
You can take in various artworks located in this section of Philadelphia designed by or devoted to the memory of French citizens including sculptures in the Foreign Dignitaries Gallery of the Second Bank of the United States and portraits of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette in Congress Hall. To the East of this section of the city is the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, connecting Philadelphia to New Jersey. If you visit this area, notice the towers of the bridge. They were also designed by French architect Phillipe Cret.
Rittenhouse
Square
Down by Rittenhouse Square, which was modeled after the Parc Monceau in Paris, located between 18th and 19th Streets bordering Walnut Street, stop in at one of Philadelphia's French commercial establishments to further enhance the Philly French experience. Have your hair styled at the VOG Beauty Salon or shop for French fashions at the Rodier Boutique. Sip a recuperative café au lait at Café Cigale or at one of the many French style outside café's that have sprung up around the Square.
Café Cigale - Philadelphia
Café - Paris
Café - Philadelphia
Café - Philadelphia
Complete your French tour of Philadelphia by making reservations at any one of the numerous French restaurants Philadelphia has to offer. Philadelphia serves up some of the finest French cuisine at Le Bec-Fin, Ciboulette, and La Terrasse, just to name a few.
Finally, if you are in town during the week of July 14, 2000, you may want to partake in a number of Bastille Day celebrations happening around the city. Contact the Alliance Française of Philadelphia for more information at 215-735-5283 . One celebration involves a re-enactment of the storming of the Bastille by actors in front of the Eastern State Penitentiary on 22nd and Fairmount streets. Call the Penitentiary museum for dates and details at 215-236-3300 or visit their website at www.easternstate.com.
Bastille Square - Paris
Eastern State Penitentiary - Philadelphia
Au Revoir.
Eiffel Tower - Paris
Eiffel Tower - Philadelphia
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1) "A Museum Of Prison Life Eastern State Penitentiary Is Finding The Keys To Becoming A Major Tourist Site," Philadelphia Inquirer, 5 July 1999, sec. Editorial, p. A06.
2) John S.C. Abbot, History of Joseph Bonaparte: King of Naples and Italy (1899).
3) Georges Bertin, Joseph Bonaparte en Amerique (1893).
4) Owen Connelly, The Gentle Bonaparte: A Biography of Napolean's Elder Brother (1968).
5) Lauren Cowen, "Seeing Philadelphia Through Visitors' Eyes: A Vibrant, Unique Place," Philadelphia Inquirer, 25 June 1993, sec. Features Convention Center, p. CC08.
6) Annette H. Emgarth, French Philadelphia: Exploring the French Cultural & Historical Presence in the Delaware Valley, 2d ed.(Alliance Francas de Philadelphie, 1991).
7) David Iams, "Seaport Museum Party Marks France's Holiday," Philadelphia Inquirer, 16 July 1998, sec. Features Magazine/Lifestyle, p. D03.
8) David O'Reilly, "French Connections Bastille Day Is Here, And So Are The French. Firms Such As Carrefour, Certainteed And Assouline & Ting Give Philadelphia A Gallic Accent. But How Do The French Feel About Their Adopted City," Philadelphia Inquirer, 14 July 1992, sec. Features Daily Magazine, p. D01.
9) J.G. Rosengarten, French Colonists and Exiles in the United States (1907).
10) Michael Ross, The Reluctant King: Joseph Bonaparte, King of the Two Sicilies and Spain (1977).
11) Inga Saffron, "Parkway Plan Offers A Vista For Walking Backers Say That Pedestrians Could Benefit. But Not Everybody Likes The Plan For The Ben Franklin Parkway," Philadelphia Inquirer, 28 April 1999, sec. Local, p. A01.
12) Robert Strauss, "Vive La France Philadelphia's French Accents It Started With Stephen Girard And Continues Today: The French Lending Their Special Flair To This City," Philadelphia Inquirer, sec. Features Weekend, p. 22.