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| Independence Seaport Museum (ISM) is one of the 23 AWE sites where Sarah is installing art over the next two years. Today we got the VIP treatment, a personal tour from head honcho John Brady, who for decades built high end wooden racing yachts (with modern hardware updates to traditional designs). He graciously showed us the workshop and gave us a crash course on boatbuilding technique, then lovingly explained the nuances of dozens of boats in the museum's diverse collection. I've never been in a place where people speak so reverently about a city's founder, but any Philadelphia history lesson seems to begin, "When William Penn…" I suppose that's because few places can trace their origin to a single person in the way Philly can. One day in 1682 Penn showed up and laid down the streets and the law. One of his rules was river- front lots could be privately owned, but where streets met the river there'd be stairs for public access. Over the centuries, the topography has shifted (as rivers do), and the last example of those original steps is now stranded inland. But that point is pretty much moot as the west bank of the Delaware has for the most part been walled off by I-95, leaving very few access points to the waterfront. |
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