Bicentennial city

the long version

Bicentennial City, one of the newest in the growing number of guides to Philadelphia, is a chatty, relaxed book. Mr. Marion goes about his business of advising readers what to see and how to find it, with a note on hours and fees where pertinent, much in the manner of a latter-day Christopher Morley urging the delights of city walking upon us all. There can be no doubt that the only way to discover the quality of a city, to understand its structure, its moods, to find its hidden treasures is to go about it on foot. Walking, once almost a lost art, is again coming into vogue along with our renewed appreciation of cities as visual records of the lives, ambitions, and achievements of the men and women who were here before us [...]. To help Philadelphians and visitors to Philadelphia discover the pleasures of strolling through his city, Mr. Marion has divided his book into walkable segments, provided a keyed map for each and a commentary on the neighborhood, its buildings, their furnishings and owners. Along the way, he gossips about people, theorizes about society's rules and customs, and offers his somewhat romantic explanations for objects like amity buttons and "whispering" closets. -- From https://www.jstor.org (Oct. 9, 2017).