Bicycle Lane Icon Philadelphia Nude Descending a Staircase

フィラアデルフィアの自転車専用レーン

Having just come from the Philadelphia Museum of Art, we were struck by the similarity of a Center City bike lane icon to Marcel Duchamp's Nude Descending a Staircase (No. 2).

Duchamp's work was a sensation at the Armory Show of contemporary art in February 1913 held in New York; it now resides in the Philadelphia Museum.

The Cubist work was bought at the Armory Show for three hundred dollars, and then later repurchased by Walter Arensberg, who was a patron of the Art Museum.

Today, the work has reappeared in modified form on the streets of Philadelphia, where it is ubiquitous if not quite as sensational.

© CycleKyoto.com

CycleKyoto Home Page

Tags

Japan
Touring
Kyoto
Cycle
Bike Lane

Delancey Street Philadelphia Streetscape

フィラデルフィアデランシーストリート

No neon.

No signs.

No telephone wires.

A unified cityscape.

No pachinko parlors.

No karaoke.

Street trees that are not radically pruned.

Philadelphia's Delancey Street is an elegant residential street in Center City.

Why is that Kyoto in its way with its design sense its sense of history is incapable of a similar effect?

© CycleKyoto.com

CycleKyoto Home Page

Tags

Japan
Touring
Kyoto
Cycle
Philadelphia

Rittenhouse Square Philadelphia Bicycle

フィラデルフィアリッテンハウススクエアの近くの自転車

This gets the award for most eye-catching bicycle in Philadelphia.

Parked - locked - on Walnut Street in front of Rittenhouse Square, this baby is going nowhere fast.

Fitted with shag tires, gold roses, and other detailing, this is a keeper.

© CycleKyoto.com

CycleKyoto Home Page

Tags

Japan
Touring
Kyoto
Cycle
Japanese

Cycling Philly

自転車でフィラデルフィアを楽しむ

On a blustery late March day, a decked out cyclist whizzed past us on Broad Street heading south.

We were near the front of the Pennsylvania Academy.

Having just seen the Henry Ossawa Tanner exhibit, we came out and were admiring the front of the Convention Center, which now faces Broad Street north of City Hall.

Compared to Kyoto (where we now live and cycle), Philadelphia (where we used to live and cycle) has more space on the roads, more bike lanes, better signage - and a lot more aggression.

Cyclists and cars are competing for space, and it isn't always pretty.

© CycleKyoto.com

CycleKyoto Home Page

Tags

Japan
Touring
Kyoto
Cycle
Philadelphia

Cycling Society Hill Philadelphia

フィラデルフィアのソサエティーヒルを自転車で乗る

A slum as recently as the 1950s, Philadelphia's Society Hill is now one of the most expensive and beautiful areas of the city.

Thanks in part to Edmund Bacon (father of actor Kevin), who was the head city planner of at the Philadelphia City Planning Commission for many years, the area was revitalized.

To draw wealthy residents to the area two apartment towers, designed by IM Pei, were built.

Today, many many blocks of brick colonial homes frame Independence Mall. The neighborhood is redolent of history and beautifully preserved - and a vibrant place to work and live.

It is also a good place to cycle.

Just south is South Street, a short hop north takes you to Northern Liberties, and the main business area of Center City is no more than 10 minutes away on a bike.

And there is no way that SEPTA can beat that.


© CycleKyoto.com

CycleKyoto Home Page

Tags

Japan
Touring
Kyoto
Cycle
Philadelphia

Funky Philadelphia Bicycle Reading Market

フィラデルフィアの自転車

On a recent trip back to Philadelphia, we wandered the streets downtown and were struck by how much bikes and bike culture have changed since we were commuting in the late 1980s.

First, there were a few bike lanes. Amazing.

Second, the number of cyclists seems much, much greater than in the bad old days.

Also, in the several hours we had to stroll around and observe, the level of hostility seemed lower. This, though, could only be confirmed by a few months of actual riding.

The new bike loops for parking and locking are quite elegant. They were attached to what appeared to be former parking meters.

Some things however never change: the streets were a complete, potholed mess.

© CycleKyoto.com

CycleKyoto Home Page


Tags

Japan
Touring
Kyoto
Cycle
Philadelphia