text: seven walking tours through historic Philadelphia

Atwater Kent Museum

Atwater Kent museum building

For an intimate look into Philadelphia's past, do not miss the Atwater Kent Museum.

Once the home of the Franklin Institute, the museum was designed by John Haviland and built between 1825 and 1827. This small but choice collection is devoted exclusively to Philadelphia history. The museum is intimate and the collection a potpourri. Included in the collection are an 18th-century cockroach trap and a 19th-century rogues gallery of mugshots from the Philadelphia Police Department. Special exhibits detail such subjects as Philadelphia's industrial heritage where the curious visitor will find that John Stetson's "Boss of the Plains" hat favored by Tom Mix was manufactured in Philadelphia.

Note: The Museum is currently closed to the public. See their website for details



Independence Hall Area