How Philly Works: Streets as Barometers of Urban Life:

Presented in collaboration with the City Records Department and drawn from City Archives, City Departments, and AKMP's City History collection, the exhibit includes paintings, photographs, prints, objects and documents that use William Penn's vision to explore Philadelphia street activity over 300 years. Since 1682, Philadelphia 's streets have been central to the city's identity as an urban center. While Penn's vision often clashed with the expectations of Philadelphia residents, it has remained a touchstone, a barometer, for subsequent generations to measure their care of the city's legacy.
Featured in the exhibition are the Philadelphia City Charter drafted by William Penn to residents in 1701, the wampum belt believed to have been given to Penn by the Lenape tribe, a waywiser used to measure city streets, police paraphernalia from the late 1800s, a pushcart used on the streets by Freihofer's Bread Company in 1900, torches from the 19th century used in parades, a banner from the 1840s opposing immigration, and parade puppets from Spiral Q. Visitors are welcome to access the City records on computers provided in the exhibition. Another special feature of the exhibition is an original soundscape created in Fall 2006 by Philadelphia audio artist John J.H. Phillips.

The Wonderful World of Radio:

The Wonderful World of Radio features early radios along with advertising artwork from the Atwater Kent Manufacturing Company. Excerpts of popular radio shows from 1920-1950 are available in the gallery so visitors may listen to vintage recordings including Eddie Cantor and the stock market crash in 1929, the Hindenburg disaster of 1937, Jesse Owens at the Berlin Olympics in 1936, and Lou Gehrig’s farewell address on July 4, 1939.
Radio production flourished in Philadelphia and Greater Philadelphia during the first half of the 20th century. Two giants in the field, the Atwater Kent Manufacturing Company and Philco had their plants in Philadelphia and RCA had its headquarters in Camden, New Jersey. These companies employed thousands of people directly in production, advertising, and distribution of their products as well as indirectly through the expansion of radio programming. The exhibition highlights examples of these products and provides a historical overview of Philadelphia’s pivotal role in radio manufacturing and distribution.