page 28 The Public Record • October 23, 2008 www.phillyrecord.com
CitiLife
Halloween celebrating more than ghosts and goblins by Ruth R. Russell Imagine digging in the back yard of your newly acquired house and finding bones buried there. That’s what happened when excavators were clearing out the basement of the Benjamin Franklin House, on Craven Street in London, a few years ago. Actually they were not too surprised. The Georgian residence, where the American statesman and scientist had lived from 1757 to 1775, was also the location of an anatomy school run by the husband of Franklin’s landlady, we learned during our recent visit. Appropriately enough this month, an exhibition of the bones will be open to the public and a series of lectures will be given on subjects such as ‘A Day Without Dissection is a Day Wasted.’ The Franklin House, however, is generally not boning up on this theme.
Rather the focus is on Franklin in London, his daily life in the four-storey, 18th century structure, his inventions and his efforts to resolve the differences between Britain and the American colonies. Eventually he departed for home on the eve of the Revolutionary War. A visit to this only surviving home of Benjamin Franklin is worthwhile (or stop in at www.benjaminfranklinhouse.org) but there are plenty of other ways to enjoy the Halloween season. Some are included here. ‘Terror in the Walls’ Eastern State Penitentiary is currently hosting its annual ‘Haunted House in a Real Prison,’ running through Halloween weekend. Originally designed to encourage its inhabitants to repent of their crimes, the penitentiary has seven cellblocks that extend out to form a wheel and once
Ruth Russell housed famous criminals such as Al Capone. The prison, at 22nd Street and Fairmount Avenue, no longer contains any residents but has been designated a National Historic Landmark and has regular museum hours and special events. Admission is charged. If a haunted prison appeals to you, look for complete details at www.easternstate.org. Haunted trees & trimmings Just in time for Halloween is a special family workshop
at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Broad and Cherry Streets, on Saturday, October 25, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Participants will learn how to build scary and decorative Halloween trees to trim with ornaments they make themselves including ghosts, skeletons and pumpkins. Robert Harman is the instructor, and the session is free for Academy members or with Academy admission for non-members; there are special group rates. Learn more at 215-972-2061. ‘Pirates Spooktacular’ The popular exhibition on pirates at the Franklin Institute, 20th Street and the Parkway, is getting ready for Halloween with festivities on Saturday, October 25, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. There will be a costume parade, mask making and a “Bloody Hand Science Experiment”(sounds frightening), along with a
chance to make a pirate treasure map and “your own skeleton” plus see the movie, Pirates of the Caribbean. Kids who come in costume will be admitted free and the first 350 will get a free Halloween treat bag. For more information, call 215-4481200 or visit www.fi.edu. Bill of Frights The National Constitution Center (NCC), at 525 Arch St., also gets into the spirits of Halloween with its annual ‘Bill of Frights’ on Saturday, October 25, from noon to 3 p.m. Featured will be ghost stories of the Constitution Signers, Presidential costumes (come as your favorite US President) and a book signing of Patriots, Pirates, Heroes & Spies: Stories from Historic Philadelphia by its author Sandra Mackenzie Lloyd at 1 p.m. A walking tour, ‘Be Prepared to be Scared,’ from 2 to 4 p.m.,
will take interested visitors of all ages past nearby historic sites where ghostly sightings have been reported. (Separate admission is charged.) Learn more at 215-409-6700 or www.constitutioncenter.org. Music & Day of Dead Free concerts continue at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, Broad and Spruce Streets, with the Temple University Brass Quintet on Saturday, October 25, at 1:30 p.m., and the Philadelphia Songwriters Project Showcase on Sunday, October 26, at 6 p.m., both in the Commonwealth Plaza. Also on the 25th, at 6 p.m., a Day of the Dead exhibit will be presented, in partnership with the Mexican Cultural Center, and a ritual ceremony traditional to this holiday will be performed; admission is free. Visit www.kimmelcenter.org for more information. (Cont. Next Page)