Saturday, February 16, 1:00-4:00 p.m.
Atwater Kent Museum of Philadelphia
15 South 7th Street (between Market and Chestnut streets)
program fee: Adults, $15; under 18 years, $10. Members discount: Adults, $10; under 18 years, $8. Refreshments included at the Powel House. Rain or shine. Space limited; reservations recommended, call 215. 685.4832.
In partnership with Independence National Historical Park (INHP), AKMP Historian Cynthia Little guides participants on a private tour of George Washington's Philadelphia. Starting at AKMP with an orientation, including the display of Washington memorabilia and portraits from the collection, the tour visits central national park sites, including the President's House, Independence Hall and Congress Hall and the Second Bank. There a curatorial tour of the portrait exhibition highlights people who were part of Washington's Philadelphia.
At the INHP archaeology laboratory the significant findings from the President's House excavation related to the enslaved Africans who were part of the Washington household are on view. Michael Coard, member of the Presidents' House Committee and spokesperson for Avenging the Ancestors, discusses the meaning of the excavation and the revealed history for the African American community. At Old St. Joseph's Church participants learn about the French refugee and Caribbean Catholic community of the 1790s. The final stop is the Samuel and Elizabeth Powel House on 3rd Street, where George and Martha Washington often socialized. The tour concludes with refreshments and discussion.
Timed to coincide with the Presidents' Day holiday, the program is part of a ten-day focus on Philadelphia's tenure as the United States capital, including a special display of objects and portraits associated with George Washington, including the presidential desk. Public hours: 1-5 p.m., February 9-10, 13-18. For information about this and other programs, visit
http://www.philadelphiahistory.org or call 215.685.4832.
Philadelphia: The Capital City, 1790-1800 is sponsored by Fox Rothschild LLP and supported by the Pennsylvania Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities' We the People initiative on American History.
