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Philly’s new Path to Democracy walking tour lets visitors and residents take a front seat in exploring the city’s history.
The idea came as a way to connect residents and visitors to the historical sites around them, said Kyle Stein, a senior marketing project manager with Visit Philly.
“It’s well-documented that Philadelphia did not have anything that connected its various historic sites,” he said. “So this has been something that’s been on Visit Philadelphia’s mind for a few years now, trying to create a through line to help connect the various sites.”
The self-guided walking tour guides participants around Historic Philadelphia and stops at six spots. Stein explained the Visit Philly website page will also reference 21 stops in the walking tour – but only six of the sites have the visual guide installations.
Each spot has a prototype installation and a QR code for people to scan – which will give more information about the history behind each spot.
“It starts at Franklin Court, and when you make a right on Market, you’re going to hit Printer’s Row, which is a plaque commemorating all the printers that existed on Market Street,” he said. “Then, you’ll see the Chief Tamanend statue that’s right at the I-95 entrance.”
From there, he said walkers can go back up 2nd Street to Christ Church, then to the Betsy Ross House. The tour ends at Arch Street Meeting House.
The path will also feature mosaic-inspired art installations at each stop.
“We wanted [the art] to be distinctly Philly,” he said. “We wanted it to be something that Philadelphians can recognize and would get behind.”
Showcasing democracy over time
The experience is modeled on Boston’s Freedom Trail – a walking path with a collection of historical sites that tell the story of “the American Revolution and beyond.”
Stein said Philly’s trail will go further – focusing not just on the nation’s founding, but how democracy continues to infiltrate the city.
“Our Path to Democracy is really all of the sites that helped contribute to democracy as we know it today,” he said. “So, all of these stops along the path that helped form democracy, they didn’t just take place in 1776.”
He said future iterations of the path may include stops that relate to the Civil Rights Movement and the LGBTQ+ movement – tying in more modern examples of democracy forming.
Stein said a companion digital app will also allow for more storytelling as visitors move between historical sites.
“There’s a literal map, there’s information about each site, there’s tidbits about how close you are to the next site, information about whether it’s open or closed and there’s little factoids about the sites,” he said.
He emphasized the app will give information about the sites, but leaves some room to entice people inside to learn more.
The temporary walking path is a precursor to a permanent Path to Democracy – which is scheduled to launch in late 2027.
Stein said this pilot program will help to provide feedback.
“I think that we’d be remiss if we were to move forward with this project without getting the impact of the people who are representing it,” he said. “It’s Philadelphia’s path to democracy, so that survey is to get the feedback of the people that use it, and help influence the way that it’s gonna look in the future.
He adds he hopes the next path will expand to include even more sites – stretching to places like Washington Square Park, City Hall and Mother Bethel.
The pilot experience has six sites at the moment:
- Franklin Court, 322 Market Street
- Printers’ Row, Second St. & Market Street
- Chief Tamanend Statue, 1 S. Front Street
- Christ Church, 20 N. American Street
- Betsy Ross House, 239 Arch Street
- Arch Street Meeting House, 320 Arch Street
