Tourism is going HD in Philadelphia

by Jeffrey White on

Only in America could a really big television screen become a tourist attraction.

Tourist officials in Philadelphia have been blown away by the interest in the city’s new Comcast Center, which opened in June boasting a 25-foot tall, 2,000-square-foot high-definition LED screen.

It has thousands of hours of content and, according to the Associated Press, has five times the resolution of a typical HD television!

There are dancing sequences! Footage from outer space! Sports highlights from Philadelphia teams!

People are apparently coming by the thousands to check it out.

Marilyn Overton, who came from the suburbs with her husband to see the screen recently, tells the AP: “At first it looks like a mural. And then all of a sudden, it’s moving.”

Philly is pimping the Comcast screen on its tourism Web site.

The screen runs 18 hours a day, everyday.

“I’m sure people will say, ‘OK, I have to do the [Liberty] Bell, Independence Hall, cheesesteaks, the Rocky statue and the Comcast screen,” Meryl Levitz, a chief executive of the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corp., tells the AP.

Then again, maybe not. Since the Comcast screen includes video of Philly’s other historical sites, there may be little reason to see them in person.

This is America, please order in English

by Abha Malpani on

Since 2005, a Philadelphia based cheese-steak bistro owner has been defending a signpost in his shop that said: “This is America, please order in English.” Not surprisingly, he was taken to court on grounds of discrimination, equating it to derogatory signs like “Whites Only”. No ruling has been given yet.

I wrote a post earlier about how surprising I found it that people barely speak English in a big, cosmopolitan capital city like Madrid. It triggered a debate over whether it’s necessary for big cities (where English isn’t the first language) to have basic knowledge of English, or not.

I think it is relative. In non-English speaking metropolises, as long as the tourists put in some effort, lack of basic English may not be an important day-to-day communication hindrance, but it is definitely a disadvantage in the larger scope of things. For example: Madrid is bidding to host the 2016 Olympics — surely the knowledge of English would play an important role there. How is China tackling that issue for next year’s games? Anyway, I digress.

What do you do in an English-speaking country when your customers don’t speak English? Do you put up a sign like our friend did? Hmmm, I don’t think so — it’s quite an insult. The sign reminded me of when the English ruled India and the “No Indians or Dogs” sign was not uncommon. Couldn’t they just be offered picture menus where they could point out what they wanted? Or what about bilingual menus?

There is an online poll on the article asking whether people approve this sign post. At this moment, of the 115,732 people who voted, 92% of them approve. Call me overly sensitive but I’m kinda shocked to see the response.

What do you think? Are signs like that acceptable?

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Bonnie and Clyde: the follow-up

by Jerry Guo on

Here’s an update to my posting from Wednesday on the Ivy League couple who traveled the world, courtesy of dozens of stolen identities they took on. I found a site with lots of multimedia on their lurid romp, including nice before and after shots (mugshots, to be more accurate).

The bad news is they’re free on bail right now. But what’s somewhat satisfying is that afterwards they went back home and continued to hang out with their neighbors, some of whom they robbed for the last year, and got picked up again by the cops on more charges!

It’s no surprise all of a sudden they want to turn their lives around. To begin, they want a nice cozy deal from the district attorney. I’m really crossing my fingers that the couple will turn on each other, and hopefully this’ll give us some more drama.

The City of Brotherly Love shines.

by Grant Martin on

I think Philadelphia has been getting a bad rep. Sure, it leads big cities in murder rate and robbery is at a five year high, but is that really a big deal? I lived in Baltimore for a little while on the Johns Hopkins Campus and it was the best summer of my life. In Philly the streets are narrow and intimate and the Georgian and Federal architecture looms over you like parents watching a child wander the city blocks. Bars line the streets in Center City and after a hard night drinking you can still get a solid Whiz Cheese Steak at Jim’s to burn off your hangover.

With the crime rate so high in the city, the police department has their hands full keeping order; straight off a conversation on the virtues of JDate, my friend Brandon and I were leaving an apartment last Saturday with a couple of pockets-full of Yuengling. He cracked one open as we were leaving and I asked:

“Can’t you get an open intox here for that?”

He looked at me and shrugged, shaking his head politely.

“The police here have other things to do”.

Sweet. It’s just like being in Vegas. So next time your college roomate or your high school prom date asks you to stop by Philly for a visit, give it a good thought. The people, history, food and culture that abound in Philadelphia won’t let you down.

A Rittenhouse Gem: The Rosenbach Museum

by Kelly Amabile on

While engrossed in my entertaining introduction to vampires last week, I learned about a fantastic museum in Philadelphia that I’m eager to visit. The Rosenbach Museum and Library is housed in the former residence of two brothers: Dr. A.S.W. and Philip Rosenbach. The siblings were experts in decorative arts and collected rare books and manuscripts, many of which became part of this unique museum and research center.

Eric Nuzum visited the Rosenbach to review Bram Stoker’s notes and outline for Dracula, which are part of the museum’s permanent collection, along with a celebrated first edition copy of Don Quixote, more than 600 letters written by Lewis Carroll, and over 10,000 drawings and sketches by author and illustrator Maurice Sendak. The museum hosts a variety of creative exhibits and programming throughout the year, and runs guided tours of the home. Recently, they began offering a hands-on tour: Made in Philadelphia, which focuses on decorative arts created in the city between 1750 and 1850. Visitors are invited to look closely and even handle selected pieces of furniture and silver.

A museum that hosts an annual Dracula Festival and lets you touch things?! Sounds like a place not to be missed. They’ve got a blog too.