Secret Philly: Inside the Masonic Temple, the intricate landmark next to City Hall
A hidden network of rafters, a plaster “death mask,” and a warning about ice cream.
Secret Philly
Secret Philly takes you behind the scenes to places that are hidden — or just overlooked — around the city.
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The best place in Philadelphia to see the summer solstice sunrise
Belmont Plateau’s skyline view makes the morning magic even better.
The North Philly corner bar that brings together Latino regulars and queer clientele
Upstairs Rainbow Eye was started as a separate spot, but now it’s just part of Sammy’s Place.
‘Nothing left uncarved’: A guide to the 250 sculptures on Philadelphia City Hall
Hundreds of figures, creatures, and symbols adorn the sides of the largest municipal building in the country.
Secret Philly: The 1914 trash cleanup program that gained nationwide fame
The weeklong effort was so robust it was called “a model” for other cities to follow.
Secret Philly: The history of Swann Memorial Fountain, from execution site to temperance monument
Logan Circle’s picturesque oasis has a fascinating backstory.
When yellow fever ravaged Philadelphia, Black residents were asked for help. Then they died.
During the early stages of the 18th century epidemic, doctors believed African Americans were immune.
Secret Philly: How the City Hall clocks adjust for Daylight Saving Time
The 235-pound minute hands have to be manually adjusted.
Secret Philly: The story of Rosa Photo, that FBI fingerprinting truck at 16th and Callowhill
Started by a lawyer from the Dominican Republic, the business became a staple in the Philly immigrant community.
Eagles bounty, revenge arson and a jail escape: 7 headlines from Philly’s Thanksgiving Day past
The coronavirus has upended the holiday as we know it, but some things never change
The Philly college where Trump’s doctor got his somewhat unusual degree
In the early 1900s, Philadelphia was osteopathy central.
The Great Philadelphia Balloon Race, and that time a crash landing ended in a $1,000 robbery
Launched at the Bicentennial, the annual airborne event petered out in the '90s.
Secret Philly: Fair Hill examines the 19th Amendment’s meaning and history
The North Philadelphia burial ground was backdrop for the movements for women’s suffrage and civil rights.
William Penn kept enslaved people. These are some of their names.
An important piece of Pennsylvania's founder's legacy.
The first census, a stubborn City Council and tossing the ‘horseshoe’: How Philly invented the common street address system
Ever wondered where those fractional house numbers come from?
This Philly park was the country’s first botanical garden
Started by a Quaker farmer, Bartram's Garden is now embedded in the fabric of Southwest Philadelphia.
Secret Philly: When Rittenhouse Square was the city’s Gayborhood
In the ‘50s and ‘60s, men who hung out south of the park were known as the “Spruce Street boys.”
How the Municipal Services Building became Philly’s most polarizing government tower
The Brutalist structure was once considered revolutionary.
10 underrated Philly books to devour in the quarantine era
Buy them online to support local independent booksellers.
These ‘escape communities’ avoided death as Philly succumbed to the 1918 flu pandemic
Bryn Mawr College and Princeton University were quarantine and social distancing early adopters.