3 Best Sights in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

One of the finest examples remaining of the work of Philadelphia architect Frank Furness, this was the most innovative library building in the country when it opened in 1891. It was the first library to separate the reading room and the stacks. Peek into the reading room, dominated by a huge fireplace, and with study alcoves lit from skylights above. The unusual exterior stirred controversy when it was built: note the terra-cotta panels, short heavy columns, and gargoyles on the north end. The mottoes inscribed on many of the surviving leaded-glass windows were chosen by Horace Howard Furness, Frank's older brother and a Shakespeare scholar on the Penn faculty. Energetic visitors should consider making the long, Victorian climb up the main staircase to see the upper half of the tower. The less-energetic can take the modern elevator to the 4th floor.

Philadelphia calls its vast public-library system the Fabulous Freebie. Founded in 1891, the central library has more than 1 million volumes. With its grand entrance hall, sweeping marble staircase, and enormous reading rooms, this Greek Revival building looks the way libraries should. It's also the site of regular author readings and other book-related fairs and events. With more than 12,000 musical scores, the Edwin S. Fleisher collection is the largest of its kind in the world. The department of social science and history has nearly 100,000 charts, maps, and guidebooks. The rare-book department is a beautiful suite housing first editions of Dickens, ancient Sumerian clay tablets, illuminated medieval manuscripts, and more modern manuscripts, including the only known handwritten copy of Poe's "The Raven." The children's department houses the city's largest collection of children's books in a made-for-kids setting. The library is in the midst of renovations in preparation for a 130,000-square-foot addition designed by acclaimed architect Moshe Safdie that will house a new children's department, an area for teens, a self-publishing center, exhibition galleries, and a 550-seat auditorium.

Founded in 1731, this is one of the oldest cultural institutions in the United States and the only major Colonial American library that has survived virtually intact, despite having moved from building to building. From 1774 to 1800 it functioned as the de facto Library of Congress, and until the late 19th century it was the city library. Ten signers of the Declaration of Independence were members, among them Benjamin Franklin, Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, and Thomas McKean. The 500,000-volume collection includes 200,000 rare books. Among the first editions—many acquired when they were first published—are Herman Melville's Moby-Dick and Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass. The library is particularly rich in Americana up to 1880, black history to 1915, the history of science, and women's history. Changing exhibits showcase the library's holdings.