GaryMrMets
09-02-2002, 01:12 AM
Tourists Seek Other Side Of Philly
By MICHAEL RUBINKAM
.c The Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA (Aug. 28) - Tourists know all about the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, cheesesteaks and soft pretzels, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and its ''Rocky'' steps.
But visitors seldom see the other side of Philadelphia, one that can be found only in its diverse and sometimes blighted neighborhoods.
This fall, city officials hope to lure so-called ''urban adventurers'' to places far off the beaten tourist path, offering a series of seven neighborhood tours that wind through some of Philadelphia's meanest streets but offer culture and history, not to mention excellent eats.
The tours ''are not Philadelphia 101. They are a graduate-level Philadelphia course,'' said Cara Schneider, spokeswoman for the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corp., which is leading the effort.
Pilot tours start Sept. 14 and will run seven consecutive Saturdays through Oct. 26. Based on visitor feedback, the three-hour tours will then be tweaked and start up again next spring.
Visitors won't be spared the city's rough patches. In fact, they'll go through some of Philadelphia's grittiest neighborhoods, places like Kensington, where bombed-out buildings coexist with artists' studios.
''We've got litter. We've got cracked sidewalks. That's the reality of urban living. But we've got a richness here,'' said Patricia Wilson Aden, the project's lead consultant.
Temple University tourism professor David West is glad the city is not trying to hide its imperfections.
''Accuracy lends itself to having a memorable experience. When you go on these trips, you want to get the whole story,'' he said.
The city expects the tours will lure repeat visitors, native Philadelphians and ''adventurous travelers.''
On Tuesday, a dozen tourism executives took a walking and trolley tour of South Philadelphia, a section of the city made famous by Sylvester Stallone in ''Rocky.'' Once dominated by Italian immigrants and their descendants, the neighborhood has become more diverse in recent years, with Vietnamese, Cambodians and other ethnic groups moving in.
At Fante's, a 96-year-old kitchenware store in the Italian Market, a worker dispensed free cups of soft frozen Chai, a spiced black tea combined with honey and milk. And at nearby Claudio's, the ''tourists'' took in the pungent aroma of 50-pound blocks of provolone cheese, then sampled squares of Doux de Montagne and other exotic cheese varieties.
The public version of the tour will be offered Sept. 21.
AP-NY-08-28-02 1114EDT
Copyright 2002 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
By MICHAEL RUBINKAM
.c The Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA (Aug. 28) - Tourists know all about the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, cheesesteaks and soft pretzels, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and its ''Rocky'' steps.
But visitors seldom see the other side of Philadelphia, one that can be found only in its diverse and sometimes blighted neighborhoods.
This fall, city officials hope to lure so-called ''urban adventurers'' to places far off the beaten tourist path, offering a series of seven neighborhood tours that wind through some of Philadelphia's meanest streets but offer culture and history, not to mention excellent eats.
The tours ''are not Philadelphia 101. They are a graduate-level Philadelphia course,'' said Cara Schneider, spokeswoman for the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corp., which is leading the effort.
Pilot tours start Sept. 14 and will run seven consecutive Saturdays through Oct. 26. Based on visitor feedback, the three-hour tours will then be tweaked and start up again next spring.
Visitors won't be spared the city's rough patches. In fact, they'll go through some of Philadelphia's grittiest neighborhoods, places like Kensington, where bombed-out buildings coexist with artists' studios.
''We've got litter. We've got cracked sidewalks. That's the reality of urban living. But we've got a richness here,'' said Patricia Wilson Aden, the project's lead consultant.
Temple University tourism professor David West is glad the city is not trying to hide its imperfections.
''Accuracy lends itself to having a memorable experience. When you go on these trips, you want to get the whole story,'' he said.
The city expects the tours will lure repeat visitors, native Philadelphians and ''adventurous travelers.''
On Tuesday, a dozen tourism executives took a walking and trolley tour of South Philadelphia, a section of the city made famous by Sylvester Stallone in ''Rocky.'' Once dominated by Italian immigrants and their descendants, the neighborhood has become more diverse in recent years, with Vietnamese, Cambodians and other ethnic groups moving in.
At Fante's, a 96-year-old kitchenware store in the Italian Market, a worker dispensed free cups of soft frozen Chai, a spiced black tea combined with honey and milk. And at nearby Claudio's, the ''tourists'' took in the pungent aroma of 50-pound blocks of provolone cheese, then sampled squares of Doux de Montagne and other exotic cheese varieties.
The public version of the tour will be offered Sept. 21.
AP-NY-08-28-02 1114EDT
Copyright 2002 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.