The Green Country Town

William Penn envisioned Philadelphia as a “green country town” with large, spacious lots stretching from the Delaware River to the Schuylkill. From this foundation, how did the city evolve and how have public spaces shaped our history? This panel was moderated by Drew Becher of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society with panelists including Inga Saffron of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Eugenie Birch of the University of Pennsylvania, and Pete Hoskins of Laurel Hill Cemetery.

The Greater Philadelphia Roundtable is a partnership of The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia and the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, presented in cooperation with numerous civic partners.  This program has been supported in part by the Pennsylvania Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities’ We the People initiative on American history.

Series co-sponsors:  Young Involved Philadelphia, WHYY, the Friends of Independence, the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program, the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation, Philadelphia Media Network, Philadelphia History Museum at the Atwater Kent, Neighborhood Interfaith Movement, Mid-Atlantic Regional Center for the Humanities.

Program co-sponsors: Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, Friends of Laurel Hill Cemetery, and the Academy of Natural Sciences.