One of the best things about living in a city is that typically, great attractions are located within walking distance. For the past year, or so, I have been trying to visit the Physick House, always missing the hours. Located in Philadelphia’s Society Hill, the Physick House was home to Dr. Philip Syng Physick, considered to be the father of American Surgery. It’s a beautiful house, the only remaining free standing mansion in Center City.
Our host, a decendent of Dr. Physick, was very informative and not only told us about the history of the house and those who lived there, he also told us a fair amount of Philadelphia history as well. A great feature of this tour is that because the house is still cared for by decendents of the house, most of the items on display were the actual property of, and were used by, Dr. Physick himself. And, when it’s your family’s things, you can let people touch, which is exactly what our host let us do. My favorite was a period pianoforte we actually got to hear. And everything, even the smallest items on display, had wonderful stories to go with them. If that wasn’t wonderful enough, you can actually rent the home for small parties as well.
Learn more about the Physic House at http://www.philalandmarks.org/phys.aspx.
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