Lani and Larry Johnson attended the 2016 National AIA Convention in Philadelphia last week. The Pennsylvania Convention Center fills four city blocks and is HUGE! Larry focused on historic preservation and attended a full-day workshop on preservation issues for Modernist architecture. The related EXPO was gigantic, and we learned about all kinds of interesting new architectural products and technology. Along with our friend George Bryant, a Philadelphia architect and historian, we also did a lot of architectural touring. Watch for another post later showing some interesting examples of residential architecture.
The Philadelphia City Hall reigned as the largest habitable building in the world from 1894 until 1908.
Entry to the Philadelphia Convention Center from Reading Terminal. We traveled to and from the convention center by rail, so this was how we arrived. The main entrance to the convention center totally dwarfs this!
Right across the street from the huge, multi-block convention center is this architectural gem: the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, designed by Frank Furness and built in 1871-1876.
Did you know that the oldest hospital in the USA is in Philadelphia? Pennsylvania Hospital was founded in 1751 by Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Bond; the main building was built in 1755.
Lani enjoyed visiting Longwood Gardens, an amazing horticultural garden with over 1,000 acres of gardens, fountains, meadows, woodlands, a conservatory, topiary garden, outdoor theater, and other garden delights. This photo shows the Italian Water Garden.
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