On The Road Again

I'm now on my penultimate stop on my tour, and notching up another new city - Pittsburgh. My first impressions are of a very beautiful city, but I'll write of them in more detail later in the week. For now, I have a couple of weeks of events to catch up on. In that regard, it's probably a good job that most of those two weeks were spent tucked up safely in the library. Philadelphia, unsurprisingly, is the main hub of my research, and is home to two of the premier archives in America, at least as far as early US history goes.

The Library Company of Philadelphia is of particular interest, because it was the oldest 'public' library in Philadelphia. I use quote marks, for you still had to pay to join - but this put it a cut above the libraries of elite universities or rich planters. Indeed, it was to become characteristic of Philadelphia that culture of this sort was transmitted to some of the lower orders of society. As with many Philadelphia institutions, such as the American Philosophical Society, it was founded under the instigation of Ben Franklin (in 1731), as part of his general quest to promote knowledge in the city. His central role in the book trade in Philadelphia was no doubt intimately connected to this, though. Philadelphia is justly proud of having Franklin as its main historical hero. I say this because Franklin was involved in a remarkable array of different pursuits - having run away from home in his late teens, he learnt his trade as a printer, but was influential as a newspaper editor, a scientist, a philosopher, and a politician. He managed to keep his popularity amongst the workers in the city even as he rose to be one of the social elite. Indeed, it was this ability to play many different roles that was crucial to his rise, and in many ways the rise of America. His role as envoy to France during the Revolutionary War was crucial in securing financial and military assistance for the United States, and it was his ability to move in society as a popular, jovial figure that was instrumental in this.

That said, even for me there is a little bit of Franklin overkill in Philadelphia. Partially this is a result of 2006 having been the tricentennial of his birth, and there are still a number of lingering displays. The other drawback comes through the predeliction for statues of Franklin. Again, this wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, except for the fact that he is usually depicted in a toga (I can think of at least three statues in this vein). It isn't the most edifying sight!

I didn't spend all my three weeks entirely in Philadelphia, however. On the second weekend of my stay, I travelled up to New York for a second time, this time to catch up with my friend Nick. Such is the size and beauty of New York that I saw a totally different side to the city on this trip - taking in a vegetarian Indian restaurant (surprisingly nice), walking right through Chinatown to get to the South Street Seaport (a lively area with fantastic views of the Brooklyn Bridge) and finishing up with pizzas in Little Italy. In the middle of the day, we took a cultural break, too, visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It wasn't the absolutely amazing experience I'd expected it to be, but maybe I was a little spoilt after seeing such a good art gallery in Washington. That said, it's a huge museum, and certainly more than could be seen in one visit.

It also isn't exactly your typical art museum. Certainly the displays are far more than just paintings hung on walls. Perhaps the biggest attraction is the Egyptian temple that has been fully rebuilt - which is certainly displayed very prominently. The American Art section contains a couple of rooms which are little more than rooms - but deliberately decked out in period style. And there are a number of stained glass installations, too. It was very enjoyable to see a variety of different art being showcased. The signature memory for me is seeing the painting of Washington crossing the Delaware, but I also enjoyed the modern (1900-1945) section, and the mediaeval section was fantastic - including enormous church stained glass windows and other similar artefacts. So although it might have underwhelmed me, that's more a product of its fame than anything else. It definitely provided a varied and unusual afternoon's diversion.

Once back in Philadelphia, I had somewhat less to do from a tourist's point of view. One new experience for me was getting a thorough investigation of University City. Philadelphia is home to five universities (I think), most of which are based over the Schuylkill river (that is, adjacent to the Center City district, where I was staying, but a reasonable way from anything major in the Philadelphia's centre). I went there largely to meet a former tutor of mine, who was a visiting professor from the University of Pennsylvania.

Penn, as it is more commonly known, is the Ivy League school in Philadelphia, and, perhaps unsurprisingly, was started by Franklin, though it was after his lifetime that it moved to its current location. It was striking just how much of the architecture of the area was based on Oxford, with the buildings arranged to form quadrangles - though generally on a larger scale than in Oxford. Thus most of the humanities professors had their rooms in the main square, which is also home to the library. The central location means that there is a constant activity in the square that you wouldn't find in Oxford, but at the same time gave it a less intimate, more institutional feel. That said, at least the buildings are red brick, rather than built out of stone.

One thing that certainly surprised me was just how corporate the University experience was. There were certainly the smattering of independent cafes and bookstores that you would expect on a campus, but other areas seemed to be corporate machines masquerading as university institutions. The 'Penn bookstore', for example, turned out on closer inspection to be a Barnes and Noble, only with a particular emphasis on textbooks and university-emblazoned sweatshirts. Similarly, the "Inn at Penn" hotel turned out to be a Hilton. I'm not saying that international megafirms don't have an important role in Oxford. But at the same time, they don't try and make their fast buck by trading off the good name of the university. Maybe these tie-ins are one of the reasons why American universities have more money...

It seems a shame to report that much of the rest of my spare time in Philadelphia was spent watching sports in various locations. I made another trip to Citizens Bank Park, and kept up my record of not having seen the Phillies lose in person (this was just as well, given that they had been on the receiving end of two heavy defeats the previous two days). The more cultural experience, though, was spending one Sunday afternoon in a sports bar watching the various NFL matches. It is quite a strange experience; as seven or eight matches were taking place at once, people were watching big screens on all sides of the bar, so you had a lot of people gazing right across you. At the same time, this added to the atmosphere - as one group of people cheered for their team, everyone else would swing round to see what was happening. And despite the presence of some fairly vocal fans, the atmosphere remained cordial throughout. My favourite moment was when the fan of one team which was losing heavily went across to the supporters of their opponents and asked them to tone their cheering down on the grounds of mercy.

Sports are very much a public delight in America. Wearing a Phillies cap around the city was one of the best things I could have done in one regard - I was frequently stopped to be asked my assessment of their chances of making the playoffs. Anyone who wears team colours, indeed, is liable to be stopped for a discussion of the latest sports news. This goes as much for college sports as for professional sports - another aspect of American culture that feels strange to me as a Brit. The passion that is displayed for college football is hard to describe - but stadia of upwards of 80,000 will sell out every weekend for the games. There is big money in it for the universities, too. Pretty much every major TV network shows at least one college game on a Saturday; the sports channels show several, back to back. Such is the money that sloshes around that the head coach of the University of Alabama is being paid $4million a year. One wonders how much stronger the universities could be if that money was invested in professors and academic resources. At the same time, it is a powerful recruiting tool. Matches on the TV are interspersed with adverts showing off leafy campuses and students' academic prowess; such is the passion that the teams inspire that it almost certainly helps encourage children go to the same colleges as their parents, and that in turn will bring in donations that can be used for non-sporting pursuits.

That pretty much encapsulates my time in Philadelphia, which still remains one of my favourite cities. A return trip to New York helped me realise what it is that makes the city appeal to me so much. New York has a huge variety of sights, sounds, and smells to keep you entertained - but each group has its own subsection. The Upper East Side is for the posh museums; the lower tip has the Financial District, then Chinatown, then Little Italy. Everywhere is quite encapsulated. Philadelphia is similar, but in miniature. So the arts district is cheek by jowl with the upscale neighbourhood in one direction, but in the other direction you find the main commercial district, which borders a nightlife area - well, you get the impression. The point I'm making, though, is that the districts overlap and invariably run into each other, which gives a vibrancy to the city, without making it as unmanageable as New York. It's a shame to leave - then again, I will almost certainly be back before I finish my doctorate.