Horse-drawn carriage tour

Gayle and I went on a horse-drawn carriage tour of historic Philly. I have never done this before, but since this was how they got around during those days, I was happy to experience it! These are all some sights we saw on the tour.


This was the first fire station in Philly. The horses and all of their paraphernelia were kept here. We saw the building where the first fire insurance company still sells fire insurance to this day.

William Penn was actually very concerned about fire because it could destroy entire cities. Therefore, he built the two main streets to be breakers so if part of the city did catch on fire, no more than one-fourth of it would burn down. A colonial house could not be built of wood or other easily burnable materials in the Philly area, which is why the majority of homes were brick. Also, the kitchens had to be in the cellars under the brick floors so if they caught on fire the cellar doors could be closed until the fire was extinguished. Unfortunately, fire was the second leading cause of death for colonial women, (childbirth being the first) since they were often trapped in the burning kitchens.


It was against the law to gossip in the colony as well. Therefore, women would go to these bench areas (called whispering walls) where one would sit on one end, and the other would sit at the opposite end. If you put your face into the wall and whispered, the sound would carry to the other side. This way the women could gossip, but since they were "talking to a wall" they weren't tehnically breaking the law.


This is Donavon. He was the horse pulling our cariage very reluctantly. The poor thing acted so old and tired!


I don't know what this elevator originally did or when it was built, but I liked the way it looked.


The plot of land this house little house stand on and the plot next to it were purchased together by a lady who wanted to restore the big house and build a garden on the second plot. However, the city would not let her only plant a garden, and told her if she didnt build a house on the plot they would reverse the sale and take both plots back. Rather than fight them on the point, the lady built what is legally a house surrounded by a beautiful garden... it has a foundation, a locking door, windows, and a roof. The city took her to court, and she won her case in about five minutes when she explained to the judge that they never told her how big the house had to be.