When HL and I flew to Philadelphia in April to visit our friends, we arrived just in time for a reprise of Winter.  We had expected the cold, wet weather, though knowledge of the forecast did nothing to improve it.  It was not until we checked into our hotel in Center City that the day seemed to brighten: we were given a room on the topmost floor, definitely an upgrade.  From our twenty-fourth floor eyrie, we could survey the downtown streets and watch students competing in soccer on the Friends' Select School's rooftop playing field.

We were inadvertent spectators for field hockey as well as soccer games, albeit with an obstructed view.

          Those fortunate enough to have received an education before ignorance became the national standard probably learned about the importance of Philadelphia during the Colonial period.  Philadelphia was the country's capital for a decade prior to the construction of Washington, D.C.  It could be argued that the city's glory days ended with the departure of the federal government in 1800.  This circumstance may have amplified the civic pride responsible for the concentration of monuments, markers, and institutions housed in grand Neoclassical buildings within walking distance from our hotel.  

            Philadelphia's City Hall has an unmistakable profile, crowned with the bronze likeness of the city's founder, William Penn.  Its dome is studded with the statues of lesser luminaries, part of the complement of 52 sculptures adorning the Second Empire-style bulding.  We did not have the time to tour it.  As it was drizzling rather than raining, we chose to stay outdoors and went towards Logan Square.    

Philadelphia's City Hall is the largest municipal building in the country.

          Logan Square is one of the five squares included in William Penn's original 1682 plan for the city.  Now the square is a circle, with flower beds curving around a central fountain.  The tulips, daffodils and hyacinths already had disappeared from my own yard, as the season arrives well before the Vernal Equinox where I reside at present.  We had a second chance to admire the flowers as Spring made its slow approach to the soi-disant City of Brotherly Love.