We’re proud to be involved in the prototype augmented-reality cell phone application for phillyhistory.org, the online database of historic photographs and maps from the City Archives, the Water Department, the Office of the City Representative, the Free Library, and the Library Company of Philadelphia, originally built by Azavea Inc. The app is available at no cost for both iPhone and Android smart phones. The Encyclopedia’s editors participated as advisers to the project and coordinated text for a group of photographs, with Doreen Skala researching and writing the text.
Blog Author: cmires
“City of Scholarly Love”
The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia project appears in the Works in Progress section of the Autumn 2011 issue of The American Scholar, the magazine published by the Phi Beta Kappa Society. Writer Chloe Taft calls attention to our project’s widespread public participation and to our web site as a growing gateway to the region’s digital resources.
“Cradle of Liberty” Program Featured on C-SPAN
This spring more than 400 people in the Philadelphia area participated in the Greater Philadelphia Roundtable, our series of public programs to help shape The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia. The Encyclopedia team and our partners at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania organized this year-long series of programs focusing on major themes in Philadelphia’s history. With funding from the Pennsylvania Humanities Council, each program is preceded by an essay published in The Philadelphia Inquirer and on the web site of WHYY’s Newsworks.org. The June 23 program on the theme “Cradle of Liberty,” held at the National Constitution Center, was taped by C-Span and is now available for viewing online in the C-SPAN Video Library.
“William Penn’s Vision for Philadelphia”
When we first announced plans for an educators’ workshop, little did we know that it would fill up with 30 teachers in less than two days, with a sizable waiting list besides! We have now expanded the “Penn’s Vision” workshop on June 23 to accommodate 10 more educators from the waiting list, and we encourage others to consider attending the evening program, “Cradle of Liberty,” that same evening at the National Constitution Center. The evening program also offers 1.5 hours of Act 48 credit for teachers. For information and to register for “Cradle of Liberty,” visit our events page, or register with the National Constitution Center.
Additional educators’ workshops will be organized, and one way to be sure you receive information promptly is to sign up for our list-serv. Thanks to our partners in this effort, including the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia History Museum at Atwater Kent, the National Archives in Philadelphia, the National Constitution Center, and Independence National Historical Park.
@Backgrounders in Action: Girard College
This week’s news presented an ideal opportunity to connect history with the news, using our Backgrounders feed on Twitter to reach journalists and other interested readers. When WHYY posted its report that Autumn Adkins Graves, the president of Girard College, will step down at the end of the school year, we added background with our Girard College essay as well as a link to Temple University’s outstanding “Civil Rights in a Northern City” project. These resources, combined with the news account, call attention to the significance of the service of President Graves as the first female and African American head of this landmark Philadelphia institution.
A Full Slate of Fall Events
We began the fall with a full house at the “Athens of America” roundtable at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Please join us also for the following events:
This Saturday, October 1, we are a co-sponsor for the Association of Philadelphia Tour Guides’ second annual “Great Twelve-Hour Tour” of Philadelphia. It’s a River to River, Pine to Vine, Rain or Shine event, and it’s free – join any segment or spend the day. For more information, go to: http://www.phillyguides.org/great-tour-2011.aspx .
Registration is open now for the next two programs of the Greater Philadelphia Roundtable discussion series:
- “Workshop of the World” on Wednesday, October 19, 6:30-8 p.m., at the Tacony branch of the Free Library.
- “Corrupt and Contented” on Tuesday, November 15, 6:30-8 p.m. at Philadelphia Media Network Headquarters (the Inquirer Building, 400 N. Broad Street).
For information and advance registration – strongly advised! – go to: https://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/events
Teachers, an additional educators’ workshop will be offered on the theme of “Workshop of the World” on Tuesday, November 9, 3:30-6:30 p.m. at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. To sign up for this free workshop, go to: http://www.hsp.org/node/2311
We are so pleased by your interest and participation in creating The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia. Thank you!
A Strong Finish: City of Neighborhoods
We had another full house this week to conclude the current series of the Greater Philadelphia Roundtable. If you missed it, you can read JoAnn Greco’s coverage in PlanPhilly, and we will soon post a written summary and audio recording of the discussion. Our thanks to everyone who supported and participated in our year-long series of explorations of Philadelphia’s famous phrases, from the City of Brotherly Love to City of Neighborhoods. Watch for announcements of future programs.
Add Your Voice to the Conversation
What forms should the Encyclopedia take? What information is needed, and how might this benefit the city and region? We began this conversation at the Civic Partnership and Planning Workshop in April. Summaries of all workshop sessions are now posted on this site, with opportunities to comment. See “Join the Discussion” on the menu bar above or go directly to the workshop program page for links to the summaries. Your input will help shape the direction of this project.
Bibliographic Survey Expanded
Our survey of recently published works about Philadelphia now covers books, articles, and dissertations since 1982. To find the most up-to-date research on numerous topics, link to the survey on our Bibliographic Survey page.
Call for Proposals: Community Voices Gallery
Building on the widespread interest in our recent “City of Neighborhoods, City of Homes” program at the Philadelphia History Museum, we’re pleased to call the following opportunity to your attention:
The Philadelphia History Museum at the Atwater Kent has reopened with a new exhibition concept, a community history gallery featuring exhibitions designed and curated by neighborhood organizations about the work they do and the contributions they have made to the fabric of life in the city. One goal of this new exhibition gallery concept is to give Philadelphians an active voice in presenting the city’s history based upon historical, social, cultural, intellectual, or political concepts. The Philadelphia Voices Gallery will present three compelling exhibitions each year that give voice to the ways that Philadelphia’s community and neighborhood based organizations address issues including hunger, violence, homelessness, discrimination, housing, education, immigration, health, environment, and work.
For information on how to participate in this exciting opportunity, visit this web page:
http://www.philadelphiahistory.org/communityhistorygallery