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A subsection of Washington Square West, the Gayborhood is Philadelphia's traditional LGBTQ-friendly area. It covers from about Broad and Walnut about 11th and Pine, and is most strongly associated with 12th and 13th streets, especially from Pine to Walnut. The Gayborhood is comprised of bars, restaurants and other LGBTQ-friendly business, including Giovanni's Room, the oldest operating queer bookstore in the U.S. Popular establishments include Woody's, Pure, and 12th Street Gym. Most straight-owned Gayborhood businesses are friendly to the LGBT community and straights alike regardless of orientation.
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Mask and Wig has presented comedy, music, and dancing to the University of Pennsylvania, to Philadelphia and to audiences across the country since 1889 and is a legend amongst Philadelphia theatre-goers. Each spring, Mask and Wig performs a full-length musical comedy at its historic Clubhouse.
Showcases a variety of performing arts from chamber music, dance, drama, orchestral, jazz & pop.
The Academy is the oldest grand opera house in the United States still being used for its original purpose. The Academy also provides the Philadelphia area with interesting and popular concerts, ballets, Broadway shows, and other events. Tours of the Academy, focusing on its inspiring history and current renovations, are available by contacting the manager's office.
America's oldest theatre celebrated its 200th anniversary season in 2009. Shows regularly sell out, and travelers are advised to buy in advance. The theater is a self-producing, non-profit regional theater.
The unofficial center of Center City at Broad and Market Street. An architectural masterpiece, built out of stone in the Second Empire style. The building is 548 ft (167 m) tall, topped by a 36 ft bronze statue of William Penn. It remained the tallest building in the city from its construction in 1901 until 1987. There is a paid tour you can go on which takes you to an observation deck in the tower.
A lively neighborhood, extending from 7th to Broad Street, Chestnut to South Street. It is bordered by the quieter neighborhoods of Rittenhouse Square to the west and Old City/Society Hill to the east. It is home to Antique Row and Mid-Town Village (two great shopping districts), historic cobbled streets, theaters, restaurants and more. Antique Row (Pine Street between about 13th and 9th Streets) is full of interesting shops, not all of them antiques-oriented. This neighborhood is a good place to see Philadelphia's native style of house, the "trinity" -- two, three, or four floors, one room per floor, connected by spiral stairs. The small streets above Pine, such as Quince Street, are lined with trinities. Washington Square itself is worth a visit to see the tomb of the unknown Revolutionary War soldier.