Education
17
Built in 1786-89, Philosophical Hall became the home of the American Philosophical Society, the oldest learned society in America. Founded by Benjamin Franklin in 1743, the society pursued "useful knowledge." One of its early members, artist Charles Willson Peale, operated a museum there displaying natural and man-made curiosities, along with a noisy outdoor menagerie featuring baboons, panthers, bears, elk, and a bald eagle. The American Philosophical Society still owns and occupies the building.
Hear stories like this as you drive
ExploreHere reads historical markers out loud as you pass them: over 325,000 stories across the US. No account needed.
4.7 · 800+ ratings · Free
FIND IT
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania · United States
