Everett Potter's Travel Report

"The Dance," by Henri Matisse, artfully installed at the new Barnes Foundation

By Bobbie Leigh

Architects Todd Williams and Billie Tsien’s new Barnes Foundation in downtown Philadelphia is never referred to as a museum, but rather a campus. The modernist building, glass and stone, crisp and cool, has two personalities: one- 21st century and the other, a time warp recreation of the original galleries in Barnes’s mansion inMerion,Pennsylvania. The new building and landscaping is so stunning that it is easy to wish that Judge Stanley Ott, who ruled that the collections and paintings could be moved, had gone one step further.  One more change would have broken the rigid arrangement in the galleries and made it possible to appreciate the collection in terms of genre, period, or nationality. But the opposition to such a change was overpowering.

Exterior of the new Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia

The fight over the move from Merion to downtown Philadelphia was bitter and long. Judge Ott agreed  to amend the trust agreement, allowing the collection to be moved. You can only guess that having won that battle, the trustees were not prepared to tackle another. In fact, they received permission to amend the trust providing they would scrupulously replicate the original symmetrical floor-to ceiling configuration of paintings, furniture, pottery, and metalwork.

Barnes was an enthusiast—not just for  French paintings, but Pennsylvania German chests, cupboards, tables, chairs, ironwork, brass, tin, ceramics,  Navajo jewelry, Buddhist Boddhisattvas, and much more.  He orchestrated each gallery so that the various paintings, furniture and objects related to each other in terms of color, line, and form. He was convinced that the patterns observed in fine art reflected those in craft, especially wrought iron.

"Henriot Family," by Renoir

In the new building, the jaw-dropping collection is hung from eye level to ceiling in an almost an exact replica of its Merion home.  Some of the subtle gallery changes are glare-reducing lights instead of window shades, skylights, and indirect cove lighting. Yet, in spite of the changes, there are challenges for the viewer.  You still need a ladder or maybe binoculars to study the paintings hung way above eye level. In the very first gallery, Renoir’s Woman with a Glove, is hung so high you can barely see it.  Luckily, Cezanne’s Madame Cezanne with Green Hat is at eye level, but above one door is Renoir’s Henriot Family.  The standout in this first gallery is the exceptional Matisse, The Dance, artfully placed in three large semi-circular lunettes. Barnes commissioned Matisse to paint the mural to decorate the lunettes above the French windows in Merion.  In their new home, they look better than ever.

The new Barnes has a split personality.  You enter along a pathway lined with brilliant red Japanese maples and a flowing reflecting pool covered in Mexican beach pebbles. The façade is soy-milk colored, etchedNegevstone, softened by surrounding greenery.  The building has what every museum needs — a library, a restaurant, an indoor-outdoor café, an auditorium, and study rooms. You enter into a “Light Court,” a huge space for social occasions where light is deflected from a translucent glass roof.

Leaving the spacious, rather grand court, you enter the galleries through two massive 2,000 pound bronze and glass ornamental doors, brilliantly designed by Tsien. They pivot open and you’re in a Barnesian retreat from the 21st century. The galleries are just as they were in Merion, faithful to Barnes’s ideals. His   goal was to overturn traditional distinctions among fine, decorative, and industrial art. Barnes created plans and spatial arrangements for his objects and paintings that he thought would bring out the best in each that demonstrated how they related to each other.

Interspersed with the paintings are the ardent collector’s objects ranging from Navajo jewelry to Greek and African sculpture.  In almost every gallery, crowning or surrounding the great paintings, are wrought-iron locks, hinges, door handles, and even a pot rack. When asked about the idiosyncratic arrangement, architect Todd Williams says that over time. he has “come to love the hardware and the ensembles” where the disparate paintings, objects, and hardware “support one another.”

Mr. Barnes

Barnes may have been what some called a “misanthrope” or a “crank” but he still had a great eye and the funds to buy 800 paintings. Among them are 181 Renoirs, 69 Cezannes, 59 Matisses, 46 Picassos and 16 Modiglianis.

“No cubists?” you might ask.

In a 1947 letter on view at the special exhibition adjacent to the Light Court, Barnes wrote  in a letter to his friend Leo Stein a stinging condemnation of Picasso’s cubism admired only  by “nincompoops like Alfred Barr et al.”   Who would write like that today?

Barnes along with his Director of Education, Violette de Mazia (1899-1988), considered the Foundation primarily an educational institution, dedicated to guiding students to a greater appreciation of art and aesthetics. Now that the Barnes is up and running, we have another great museum and what  can be hoped, as Barnes and de Mazia believed, is that visitors will find that art is important and can contribute to the art of living.

Some 250,000 visitors annually are expected to visit the Barnes Foundation in its first year, roughly four times more than in its original leafy, suburban home.

Reservations to visit the Barnes are a must: www.barnesfoundation.org; 866-849-7056. Open Wednesday through Monday,9:30-6 and until10 pm on Friday.

   Bobbie Leigh has written for many national publications including The Wall Street Journal, Travel & Leisure, and Departures. Currently she is a New York correspondent for Art & Antiques.

A room (at Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia) with a view. Photo by Gayle Conran

By Everett Potter

Forgive me, Philadelphia, but you got lost in my East Coast shuffle between DC and New York City.

The backstory: it had been decades since I last set foot in the City of Brotherly Love and when I visited a couple of weeks ago, the city bore little resemblance to what I remembered. A sage reminder of why we go back.

I’m a big fan of the big city weekend getaway, especially in a winter like this where the lack of snow has made outdoor snowy pursuits virtually non existent in much of the country. And Philadelphia, lying a mere 90 minutes or so by Amtrak train from New York, fit the bill perfectly. Here are five reasons that I’m glad I went.

Reading Terminal Market

1. The Reading Terminal Market, housed in an old train station, is a culinary mosh pit of Philly: Jewish deli meets Amish dairy meets Italian food in varieties endemic to Philly (if not the boot), not to mention fish shops and flower stalls and enough bakeries to start rivalries. All in a setting that still has a few rough edges – bring on the grittiness, it’s a food market, not a food court. It is, in fact, one of the most vital, engaging food markets I have visited in years, with communal tables and chairs to enjoy the fare. So go for a roast pork sandwich from DiNic’s or a corned beef from Hershel’s and save room for a little desert from 4^th Street Cookies.

Betsy Ross, unflagging in her enthusiasm. Photo by Gayle Conran.

2. We met Betsy Ross. At least she said she was Betsy Ross, and with her clipped, early American accent redolent of 18^th century England and her formal manners, not to mention her dress, she was Betsy Ross, especially to my enthralled daughter. Living history is a great reason to come to Philadelphia.The  Betsy Ross House is a great place to start. Add on Independence Hall, and the Liberty Bell, and you’ve only begun the historical immersion that the city can offer.

Christ Church. Photo by Gayle Conran.

3. Old City = more history. The light-filled Christ Church (circa 1695) , with a helpful docent who told my daughter to please sit in the pew where Benjamin Franklin had sat and explained umpteen details about the building and the parishioners (George Washington among them). Then a stroll down Elfreth’s Alley, the oldest residential street in America. Its diminutive houses seem like doll houses on steroids, all brick and wooden shutters and tiny windows and doors and cobblestones. But it’s not Disney. These houses are still private homes. Continue to walk and wander in a neighborhood filled with quirky shops and good eateries (Fork) that reminds me a bit of SoHo in the early 80’s, a place still emerging.

4. A bit of Paris in Philadelphia. That was our meal at Parc Brasserie, which overlooks always stately Rittenhouse Square. The lights around the square gave it a festive air while Parc had a menu and décor akin to a Parisian brasserie. The swinging doors, the light fixtures, the tilework and woodwork were charming and well-sourced. As for the food , the moules frites and steak frites and a great wine list with a decent selection of affordable bottles was terrific. And unlike that city where we live, tables were far enough apart for privacy. Stop the presses.

Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia

5. We cozied up at Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia. Yes, it’s a luxe cocoon, but like most big city East Coast hotels in mid-winter, it is inclined to relax its rates. In this case, doubles start at $244. Apart from enjoying luxury digs for middle-of-the-road prices, we had a great pool at our disposal, a near mandatory requirement with a nine year old. We also had an ideal location just down the street from the Art Institute of Philadelphia, where we strolled on Sunday morning. The hotel is also close to the new Philadelphia branch of the famed Barnes Foundation and just blocks from Amtrak’s 30^th Street Station.

Philadelphia overlooked?

Not by me, not anymore.

For more info on, go to Visit Philly.

  Everett Potter is editor in chief of Everett Potter’s Travel Report

Philadelphia's Old City District

By John Grossmann

What you need to understand about Philadelphia is that better than in any other American city, the old and the new co-exist splendidly, offering a winning mix of the historic and the hip.

Nowhere is that enticing blend more prevalent than in Philadelphia’s recently revitalized Old City District, often called the most historic square mile in America. Home to such icons of Colonial America as The Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, and the Betsy Ross House, this neighborhood tumbled into hard times in the waning decades of the last century, when most of the lights went out after the day’s last tour bus reloaded and departed.

To be sure, some rough edges remain, like the brash discount clothiers on Market Street, but in recent years an influx of art galleries and chic restaurants has brought a renewed vitality to Old City, Philly’s intriguing, in progress version of SoHo—so far, blessedly minus chain stores.  Here, in the easily strolled few blocks north and south of Market Street from Front Street to 6^th Street, one can walk the same cobblestones as America’s founding fathers, then duck into Wi-Fi equipped Old City Coffee, where 50¢ buys an extra shot of its heady, six bean espresso; enter the church where the nation’s first president often worshipped from 1790 to 1797, then dine on duck confit across the street at Fork, a favorite spot of locals; honor local icon Benjamin Franklin’s birth by visiting his grave in the Christ Church cemetery at 5^th and Arch Streets, then toast him with a perfectly made mojito, margarita, or martini at any number of nearby au courant eateries.  Who wouldn’t absorb plenty of early American history with rewards like those awaiting?

So off to class.   Tour Old City and you practically trip over historic superlatives. Stroll the block-long Elfreth’s Alley, putting pricey condo renovations and the 21^st century at your back, and you’re flanked by modest brick rowhouses occupied continuously since 1713: America’s oldest residential street.   Nearby, at 2^nd and Market Streets, stands the stunningly beautiful Christ Church, with its wine glass pulpit, often called “the Nation’s Church” or “the Patriots’ Church.” Its venerable congregation included President George Washington and Betsy Ross, whose pew is marked by a flag.  In 1754, when its steeple was completed, no building in America reached higher.

A few blocks north of Independence Hall you’ll find the National Constitution Center, a must-see museum of 160,000 square feet devoted to the creation and interpretation and endurance of the four-page document that begins “We the people…” For a more symbolic take on democracy and peace, visit the National Liberty Museum, another 2003 addition to the historic district.  Here, various glass sculptures, including a 21-foot high Flame of Liberty by Dale Chihuly, evoke the fragility of freedom.

Gallery hopping on First Friday.

Your artistic sensibilities piqued, it’s on to Old City’s galleries. Some of the best are north of Market on 2^nd and 3^rd Streets.  Don’t miss the  Moderne Gallery, featuring exquisite pieces by woodworker George Nakashima, including a dining room table with a six-figure price tag; and The Clay Studio, whose funhouse-like entrance hall dazzles with pottery gargoyles and a mosaic of mirror and pottery shards. Should your visit spill into the first weekend of the month, consider yourself blessed. First Fridays, Old City’s galleries stay open late and the area’s eateries reverberate with the added excitement.

Cuba Libra in Philadelphia

Ah yes, eats.  For a mid-afternoon gallery-hopping break,  The Franklin Fountain serves traditional phosphates, egg creams, ice cream sodas, and banana splits in an old-fashioned “ice cream saloon.” More serious Old City dining offers a culinary tour of the world:  Amada elevates Spanish tapas to new heights; Cuba Libre delivers the look and cuisine of Old Havana; the stunning, always packed Buddakan delights with haute Asian fare.  Historic culinary leap? Perhaps not, but certainly a hip one.

Old City Favorites:

Old City Coffee

Restaurants:

FORK 306 Market Street, 215-625-9425 www.forkrestaurant.com

AMADA 217-219 Chestnut Street, 215-625-2540 www.amadarestaurant.com

CUBA LIBRE 10 S. 2^nd Street, 215-627-0666 www.cubalibrerestaurant.com

BUDDAKAN—325 Chestnut Street 215-574-9440 www.buddakan.com

THE FRANKLIN FOUNTAIN 116 Market Street, 215-627-1800 www.franklinfountain.com

OLD CITY COFFEE 221 Church Street, 215-629-9292 www.oldcitycoffee.com

Christ Church, Philadelphia

Attractions:

NATIONAL CONSTITUTION CENTER 525 Arch Street, 215-409-6600 www.constitutioncenter.org

NATIONAL LIBERTY MUSEUM 321 Chestnut Street, 215-925-2800 www.libertymuseum.org

ELFRETH ALLEY east of 2^nd Street between Arch and Race Streets

CHRIST CHURCH 2^nd and Church Streets

MODERNE GALLERY 111 N. 3^rd Street, 215-923-8536 www.modernegallery.com

THE CLAY STUDIO 139 N. 2^nd Street, 215-925-3453 www.theclaystudio.org

Omni Hotel at Independence Park

Where to Stay: Omni Hotel at Independence Park.  Though not itself historic (the hotel was built only two decades ago), the 14-story Omni has an old world charm and is the only full-service, four-diamond hotel in the Old City neighborhood.  The majority of guest rooms face Independence Park, as does the second floor dining room,
which boasts floor to ceiling windows.  There’s a full-service spa, where the treatments include a bamboo massage featuring live bamboo stalks soaked in essential oils, and a gem of a pool bathed in soothing low lighting.  And best of all, the Omni is steps from Independence Hall and  the Liberty Bell and an easy walk to all that Old City has to offer.
401 Chestnut Street. (215) 925-0000

For More Info:

Visit THE OLD CITY DISTRICT

John Grossmann has written about food and travel for Gourmet, Cigar Aficionado, Saveur, and SKY.
He was a finalist in the food journalist category of the 2010 Le Cordon Bleu World Food Media Awards. He is the co-author, with acoustic ecologist Gordon Hempton, of the book One Square Inch of Silence, (Free Press).

National Museum of American Jewish History

By Shari Hartford

Approach Independence Mall and the Liberty Bell and you will see Philadelphia’s new National Museum of American Jewish History (a Smithsonian affiliate) looming straight ahead. The museum tells another American independence story – this one through Jewish eyes. In a city rich with tales of quests for a variety of different freedoms, the first Jewish American community was founded in 1740. So, some might say that this museum is a very long time in coming.

I recently had the opportunity to take a sneak peek before the official opening in late November. The building itself is a marvel. From the moment you enter the 85-foot-high atrium you follow a flow of interlocking staircases to exhibits that combine religious, cultural, historical and political stories. Two sculptures representing the past and the future: Religious Liberty (created in the 19^th century) and Beacon (commissioned for the museum) stand to welcome visitors. While most other Jewish museums focus on immigration and the Holocaust, the NMAJH has created a portal into the lives of American Jews like myself, my parents and my grandparents.

The museum presents something for everyone to enjoy and ponder. Families can explore the story of the Brooks family, real pioneers who headed west in a covered wagon to build a new homeland. While listening to a soundtrack detail life on the trail, children can play with items that were typically taken on the journey. There are also model tenement apartments where young visitors can try on period clothing and set the Sabbath table.

Matchbooks from Catskills hotels.

The depiction of how a sweatshop would have produced clothing in the early 20^th century—using actual equipment from the period—was sobering as it reminded us of a grittier path some traveled just a couple of generations ago.

Jewish summer camps, suburban kitchens with typical foods, Bar Mitzvah celebrations and the ubiquitous Jewish-American experience, the Catskill mountain hotels, are displayed in interactive settings, photos and film.

A baseball autographed by Sandy Koufax.

For me, the highlight of the museum was the Only in America Hall of Fame. Here, 18 individuals, among them Sandy Koufax, Jonas Salk, Leonard Bernstein, Steven Spielberg and Barbra Streisand, are celebrated with artifacts including Emma Lazarus’ manuscript of “The New Colossus” and Irving Berlin’s piano. These special lives and accomplishments are told in major film productions, testimonials and databases. This cornerstone gallery will continue to grow as new inductees are added.

Look for me on my return visit…I’ll be the one gawking at Barbra Streisand’s costumes.

For more information and hours visit National Museum of American Jewish History

Shari Hartford is the former managing editor for Diversion magazine, where she wrote about travel in the northeast and cruising. She is currently a freelance writer and editor based in her hometown of New York City.

By Bobbie Leigh

In the final gallery of  the Franklin Institute's  new show, "Cleopatra: The Search for the Last Queen of Egypt," we get the Liz Taylor and Claudette Colbert popular imagination version of Cleopatra.  More fiction than fact,  Hollywood  portrayed her as cunning sex kitten who seduced two of the most  powerful  Romans of  her time. But in all the preceding galleries of  Franklin Institute's show, you get a much more fleshed out  view of the Hellenistic queen (69-30 BC), Egypt's last pharaoh.  With artifacts and film, the other galleries create a context for some understanding of how and where Cleopatra lived  and new insight into how she died.

Read the full story

Philadelphia. Photo by B. Krist for GPTMC.

By Shari Hartford

I've seen the movies: The Philadelphia Story, Philadelphia and Rocky; watched the television shows: Cold Case and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia; admired native daughter, Grace Kelly; know the history; and can even hum the Elton John song, Philadelphia Freedom. So, why was it that although I live a mere two hours away in New York City I've never visited? My BFF and I recently decided to spend three days taking a long-overdue close look at the City of Brotherly Love.

Read the full story