Color Ph i l adelph i a P resented By
Color Our Town Coloring Books
Welcome to Ritz-Carlton Philadlephia Luxury Hotel with History
The Ritz-Carlton, Philadelphia provides guests with the best of the past and present with hints of historic elegance that is combined with cutting-edge technology and amenities. Experience meetings that can be hosted in the bank’s former vault, and savor Latinfusion cuisine while surrounded by the towering historic marble columns. Located within proximity of Rittenhouse Row, Market Street and the Philadelphia Art Museum.
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Photo- Detroit Publishing Company (circa 1909) - Library of Congress
1. The Rotunda Building of the Ritz-Carlton Philadlephia The rotunda building, which is a reproduction of the Pantheon in Rome, is built of 9,000 tons of Georgia marble. Georgia marble was selected for its natural beauty, and the fact that it was not easily discolored by city dirt or smoke. In the interior, much of the marble is from the Carerra quarry in Italy—the same quarry where marble was mined for use in Michelangelo’s statue of “David.” The marble used for the building cost $500,000 at that time. The entire building’s cost was $1.5 million upon its final completion in 1908. A relief of Stephen Girard, the Trust Company’s founder, is carved on the tympanum above the entrance. The dome spans over 101 feet. At its time, it was the largest dome in the Western Hemisphere. The oculus in the dome is approximately 140 feet from the floor. The Girard Trust bank tellers and vault were originally housed in this building. Today, the rotunda building is home to the hotel lobby and Aqimero, a restaurant and bar by Richard Sandoval.
2. The Grand Lobby The concept for the transformation of The Ritz-Carlton, Philadelphia is inspired from its historic past and is influenced by modern day design trends. This historical treasure, originally built as The Girard Trust Company, was completed in 1908, and is a reproduction of the Pantheon in Rome. The neoclassical style structure features 9,000 tons of Georgia marble. The building’s banking history has been incorporated into the design palette used throughout the hotel, which pulls through the sophisticated rich colors of precious metals and currency. The hotel’s location on the Avenue of the Arts also serves as design inspiration. Within the hotel you will find displayed an extensive art collection that celebrates the Avenue’s cultural prominence as the art, music, theatre center of Philadelphia
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3. Liberty Bell Bearing the message: "Proclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land Unto All the Inhabitants thereof", the Liberty Bell is one of America’s greatest symbols of liberty. Pennsylvania Assembly Speaker Isaac Norris ordered a bell for Independence Hall’s tower in 1751 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of William Penn's 1701 Charter of Privileges, Pennsylvania’s first constitution. When it cracked, John Pass and John Stow melted it down and casted a new one in 1753. It's this bell that summoned citizens in 1776 to hear the Declaration of Independence’s first public reading. In the early 1800s, abolitionists gave the Bell meaning by adopting it as an anti-slavery symbol. Though Anti-Slavery Record referred to the bell as Liberty Bell in 1835, that name was not adopted until George Lippard's 1847 story Ring, Grandfather, Ring. The Bell traveled across America in the late 1800s to help the nation recover from the Civil War and remind Americans of when they fought for independence. Now a global symbol, the bell's message of liberty is still relevant today.
Photo by Carol M. Highsmith
4. Independence Hall Risking their lives, fortune, and honor, 56 men gathered at the Pennsylvania State House in 1776 and defied the King of England. Eleven years later, representatives from 12 states gathered to shape the U.S. Constitution and create one unified nation. Today, Independence Hall is an UNESCO World Heritage Site that is part of the U.S. National Park Service and an Independence National Historical Park. George Washington’s “rising sun” chair dominates the Assembly Room, which is arranged as it was during the Constitutional Convention. In the West Wing, the inkstand used to sign the Declaration of Independence and an original draft of the Constitution is displayed.
Photo by R Hood Photography
5. Philadelphia City Hall Referred by Walt Whitman as a majestic and lovely show in the moonlight, Philadelphia City Hall has stood as an architectural wonder in the city's center since 1901. Built by John McArthur Jr. and Thomas Walter from 1871 to 1901, the 548-foot tower is the world’s tallest masonry structure without a steel frame, as well as the United States’ largest municipal building with over 14 acres of floor space. City Hall is an architectural treasure inside and out, as its lavish rooms complement its sculpture-covered exterior that is topped off by Alexander Milne Calder’s 37-foot statue of William Penn. That statue towered as Philadelphia’s tallest point until 1987, when the 945-foot One Liberty Place opened. Designed in the French Second Empire style, City Hall was derided for decades due to its archaic aesthetic. But over time, Philadelphians came to appreciate this historic beauty. A National Historic Landmark, the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 and was cited as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 2006.
Photo by Smallbones
6. Love Statue The City of Brotherly Love’s best-known landmark is LOVE itself – the Robert Indiana sculpture in JFK Plaza, northwest of City Hall. First produced as a painting in 1964, Indiana lent the city a large aluminum sculpture of his “love” image as part of the U.S. Bicentennial in 1976. Though Indiana had the LOVE sculpture moved to New York in 1978, its disappearance sparked a local media uproar. Thus, Philadelphia Art Commission chairman and Philadelphia Sixers’ owner F. Eugene Dixon bought it for $35,000, donated it back to the City of Brotherly Love, and had them reinstall it in the Plaza, now lovingly referred to as LOVE Park. In 2018, LOVE returned to the renovated JFK plaza with a red, green, and purple color scheme. An iconic image synonymous with Philadelphia, the piece is almost as prevalent as the concept of love itself.
7. Philadelphia Museum of Art With its world-renowned collection, the Philadelphia Museum of Art brings the arts to life, inspiring visitors through study to discover the spirit of imagination. Connecting people with the arts in varied ways, the Museum invites visitors to see the world through the beauty and power of the arts. Founded in 1876 at the Centennial Exhibition, the Museum opened its landmark building on Fairmount in 1928. Its highlights include the world’s largest collection of Marcel Duchamp’s works, the United States’ finest collection of Auguste Rodin’s sculptures, Impressionist paintings like Paul Cézanne’s The Large Bathers and Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers, and period rooms and architectural ensembles from around the world. The museum’s exterior elements are also a beloved attraction, specifically the Rocky Statue and the “Rocky Steps”. Created by A. Thomas Schomberg in 1980 for Rocky III, the Rocky Statue celebrates the City of Brotherly Love’s favorite celluloid son Rocky Balboa. Since 2006, the statue has been located at the bottom of the stairs at the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s east entrance – which was where Rocky made his trek up the 72 steps in the first Rocky movie.
Photo 1897 - Public Domian
8. Pennsylvania Academy of The Fine Arts Founded by Charles Peale and William Rush in 1805, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts promotes the cultivation of the Fine Arts in the United States by exciting artists to invigorate the talents of its Citizens. PAFA’s collection explores the history of American art from the 1760s to today, while the museum shows works by regional artists and features annual displays of work by PAFA students. Designed by Frank Furness and George Hewitt in 1876, PAFA’s Historic Landmark Building is a Victorian Gothic masterpiece that provides the museum with a marvelous setting for its collections, exhibits, and events. The building is bedazzled with bricks, floral motifs, bas-relief friezes, and a gothic window. For its 200th anniversary in 2005, PAFA opened the Samuel Hamilton Building next to the historic museum building. Designed by OLIN in 2011 between the Historic Landmark and Samuel Hamilton buildings, Lenfest Plaza features Claes Oldenburg's gravity-defying Paint Torch and Jordan Griska's transformative Grumman Greenhouse.
9. Philadelphia zoo Located at 3400 West Girard Avenue, Philadelphia Zoo is an American first. Though William Camac established the Zoological Society of Philadelphia in 1859, the zoo did not open until 1874. Today, the Zoo educates visitors about conservation via the Zoo360 exploration trail system and the KidZooU children’s zoo and education center. Zoo360 delivers unparalleled animal interaction by giving animals greater freedom of movement while also providing guests with more direct access to see the animals. The KidZooU Children’s Zoo & Education Center has conservation stations, programs, and exhibits that shows visitors how saving energy and recycling can help save wildlife. A visit is not complete without seeing exhibits like KeyBank Big Cat Falls, Bear Country, Penn's Woodland Trail, PECO Primate Reserve, and McNeil Avian Center. The Zoo’s breeding programs serve as a safety net for species threatened with extinction in the wild. These conservation programs and modern animal exhibits make Philadelphia Zoo one of the world’s most renowned zoos.
Photo by DavidT8
10. Please Touch Museum With a mission to change a child’s life by the power of learning through play, Please Touch Museum is where lifelong learning begins, curiosity is encouraged, and every child is always welcome. Leading the charge in children’s museums as a key resource of learning through play, Please Touch Museum is dedicated to being inclusive, open, and accessible. Their exhibits, programs, and events focus on creativity, teamwork, interactions and critical thinking as core elements, which in turn help children develop the skills needed to succeed in life. Founded in 1976 by Portia Sperr, Please Touch Museum began as a project nestled within Philadelphia’s Academy of Natural Sciences. Moving to Cherry Street in 1978 and to North 21st Street in 1983, the Museum eventually launched the first publishing award that honored books for young children. In 2005, the Museum began restoring Memorial Hall–the art gallery for the United States’ first World’s Fair in 1876. This historic building has been their home since it opened in 2008.
11. Franklin Institute
Founded in 1824 by Samuel Merrick and William Keating to honor America’s first scientist Benjamin Franklin, the Franklin Institute is one of the nation’s oldest and most premier centers of science education and development. As one of the nation’s leading science centers, the Franklin Institute provides resources and offers exciting access to creatively connect people with science and technology. Opened at 20th Street and Benjamin Franklin Parkway in 1934, the current Franklin Institute was one of the nation’s first museums to offer a handson approach to learning about the physical world. Today, the facility contains 12 permanent exhibits, two auditoriums, the Tuttleman IMAX Theater, the Fels Planetarium, the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial, the Karabots Pavilion, and the exhibit Your Brain. As an American Association of Museums-accredited organization, the Franklin Institute holds treasured curated collections related to Benjamin Franklin and the Wright Brothers.
Interesting things to look out for: 1. Ritz-Carlton Hotel
Ask to be shown the staircase where the warped marble is. This is from a 100 + years of wear.
2. Ritz-Carlton Grand Lobby
Check out the light show in the lobby starting at 5pm
3. Liberty Bell
Look for the crack on the front of the bell. Determine the meaning of "Philada", "MDCCLIII", and "Lev. XXXVX".
4. Independence Hall
Search for the statue of George Washington.
5. Philadelphia City Hall
Look up to see the Statue of William Penn. Go up to the top to see the Philadelphia skyline.
6. Love Statue
Stand under the Love Statue and get your picture
7. Philadelphia Museum of Art
Take a picture of the Rocky statue. Once you are done, try to run up the 72 stairs as fast as you can.
8. Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts
Look out for Paint Torch and Grumman Greenhouse at Lenfest Plaza, which is right next to the Academy.
9. Philadelphia Zoo
Philadelphia Zoo is home to nearly 1,300 animals, many rare and endangered.
10. Please Touch Museum
Take a spin on their glimmering carousel – a piece of history build in 1924!
11. Franklin Institute
See the 1911 Wright Model B Flyer. This amazing piece of history is the most intact Wright airplane remaining in the world!
Copyright © 2022, Jake Rose All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be used or reproduced in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, email author at jake@colorourtown.com.
Color Our Town Press www.colorourtown.com
Printed in USA Cover design by Jake Rose. Cover art and back cover art by Brenda Zabala. Line illustrations by Ivan Myerchuk, and Jake Rose.
With a degree in history, Jake Rose pursues his passion for architecture, photography, and most importantly, historic landmarks. Jake honors the Philadelphia's unique historical sites in his signature style. Collaborating with artists around the world, beautiful line drawings are created using Jake’s own photographs, which are each accompanied by a rich detailed history which makes it unique in the world of coloring books. “Color Ritz-Carlton” celebrates some of the Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia's wonderful features as well as Philadelphia's fascinating attractions. Visit Jake at ColorOurTown.com and on Instagram and Facebook @colorourtown.