Hidden City Philadelphia and the Young Friends of the Preservation Alliance are excited to announce our first ever joint Summer Tour Series featuring neighborhoods of the northwest! Starting in July and running through October, we are hosting a four-part monthly exploration of one of Philadelphia's historic communities in the northwest on the last Saturday of every month led by Hidden City's own Bradley Maule. So expand your spatial comfort zones, break a sweat, and grab a beer with Hidden City and YFPA as we set out to encounter the heritage of Northwest Philadelphia.
Tours are rain or shine, so come prepared! Can’t make it to the tour? Meet up with us after at any of the local watering holes identified as our ending points.
Chestnut Hill
July 29 @ 11a-1p
Meeting Point: Gravers Station (SEPTA Chestnut Hill East Line)
Join us as we tour Historic Chestnut Hill with its amazing layers of architectural history, from 19th century classics Furness and Eyre to midcentury masters Kahn and Venturi, as well as its lively Germantown Avenue commercial corridor. We will end the tour at the recently-opened Kismet Cowork space, a wonderful example of a successful adaptive reuse with a beautiful Wissahickon schist façade. Beer, beverages, and light snacks will available at Kismet.
Ending Point: Kismet Cowork (12 W. Willow Grove Ave)
Singular tour tickets are available as well as a package discount rate of four tours for the price of three. Snag your spot ASAP!
A summary of the next three tours:
Mount Airy
August 26 @ 11a-1p
Meeting Point: TBA
For our second tour of the season, we’ll be headed a little further down Germantown Avenue to Mount Airy. Learn about the architecture and history of the 7100 block of Germantown Avenue before you return in September as bars and restaurants along that stretch take their dining into the street and under the starry sky for Supper Sessions on the Avenue. The tour will also get a chance to view the inside of the marvelous Sedgewick Theatre—a 1928 art deco movie palace now used by a local theatre group.
Ending Point: Earth Bread + Brewery (7136 Germantown Ave)
Germantown
September 30 @ 11a-1p
Meeting Point: Vernon Park
Next, we’re headed to Germantown as it prepares to celebrate the 240th anniversary of the Battle of Germantown (October 4, 1777), taking in the sights of this colonial-era borough. Our host for the tour-end festivities will be the Wyck House, an 18th century stunner with early 19th century interior alterations by William Strickland.
Ending Point: Wyck House (6026 Germantown Ave)
The Wissahickon
October 28 @ 11a-1p
Meeting Point: Valley Green Inn
To close out the series, we’ll go deep into the Wissahickon during peak fall foliage, where a walk through the valley exposes the wild inside Philadelphia’s urban identity. And be sure to check back throughout the summer to find out where we’ll be toasting our final tour of the series!
Ending Point: It’s a surprise!
