Secret Philadelphia: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure

History and hermits. Museums and murals. Graveyards and churches and plenty of cheesesteak. These are the secrets of Philadelphia. They reveal a city of curious contradiction, one with a rich history dating back to 1682 but also with an eye on the future. 

Come for the Liberty Bell­—millions do—but stay for the secrets uncovered in Secret Philadelphia: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful and Obscure. Journey to the places you’ve never heard of and back to those old haunts you thought you knew, but never like this. 


Discover where you can . . .

Enter through a gate full of artistic hands

Peruse art between arrivals and departures

Throw a penny on a Founding Father’s grave (and learn why you should)

Sample a sandwich on both sides of the street

Learn how 19th-century surgeries were performed 

Explore the cell where Al Capone paid his debt to society

Discover the cave of the first doomsday cult

Come face to face with the bird that inspired two famous authors

Follow the footsteps of famous boxers—both real and fictional

Encounter the real heroes of the Revolution

Greet neighbors in the oldest neighborhood in the country

Roam through dinosaurs and walk away with a butterfly

See slides of Einstein’s brain


From the festive fantasy of the Mummers to the disturbing reality of the Mütter, Philadelphia is a city with stories to tell. Uncover your own favorites in the pages of Secret Philadelphia.