Philadelphia

Not that Philadelphia compares with Hong Kong (or business class or a diamond ring), but I thought I would share my Rocky moments.

I have been rehearsing here in Philly for a few weeks (see next posting for performance details) and running in Philly. I'm staying a couple miles from Fairmount Park and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, thus the Rocky reference (yes, I ran the steps).

On my run I pass the Eastern State Penitentiary, which I thought might be in a shady neighborhood until I learned that Eastern State is now a tourist destination. Opened in 1829, Eastern State Penitentiary was the first modern building in America. Imagine, prisoners had central heating and running water when Andrew Jackson still had chamber pots in the White House!

Eastern State Penitentiary provides some reflection for citizens on our current prison system. Initially built to house 250 inmates in their own private cells, when it closed in 1971, Eastern State held 1,700.