The Arts:
Most of the city's major venues for the performing arts are located either within or within easy walking distance of the Avenue of the Arts.- Founded in 1805, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA), located north of City Hall, has been at the vanguard of American art since its inception. Home to works by Winslow Homer, Thomas Eakins and Maxfield Parrish, America’s oldest art school and museum long preceded the official designation of its address by training such notable artists as Mary Cassatt. Recently expanded, PAFA now hosts exhibitions in the beautifully restored Samuel M. V. Hamilton building.
- In 2001, the $265 million Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts opened to great acclaim. It’s now home to several of the city’s prominent performing arts groups, including the Philadelphia Orchestra, Philadanco, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, The Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Peter Nero and the Philly Pops and the American Theater Arts for Youth.
- Just up the street is the venerable Academy of Music, which opened in 1857, making it the oldest opera house in the country and the current home of the Opera Company of Philadelphia and the Pennsylvania Ballet.
- Other performing arts venues located along the Avenue include the 300-seat Wilma Theater, showcasing innovative drama and musicals by national and local groups.
- The Merriam Theater, a 1,688-seat facility, offers a full schedule of dramatic and musical productions from local, university, regional and national companies.
- The Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz and the Performing Arts is one of the country’s premier organizations dedicated solely to jazz music, history and instruction.
- Within the district is the Prince Music Theater, named after legendary theater producer Hal Prince. The 300-seat venue presents a variety of American musical theater, as well as film and children’s programming.
- Also calling the Avenue home is the University of the Arts, the only university in the U.S. devoted exclusively to education in design and the visual and performing arts, with a cadre of fine art galleries and performance spaces.
- On North Broad Street, Freedom Theatre is the nation’s oldest and largest African American theatrical institution.
Hotels:
From new construction to renovations of landmark buildings, hotels along and near the Avenue of the Arts, which is just blocks from the Pennsylvania Convention Center, offer visitors diversity in architecture, design, price and amenities.- The Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia Hotel, a reconstruction of the exquisite, neo-classical domed Mellon/Girard Bank building, features a rotunda with public areas, two full-service restaurants and a bar. An adjacent tower houses 331 rooms, a tobacco lounge and the Ritz Carlton Club, a private lounge with dramatic skyline views and private access to 45 club rooms and suites.
- The 172-room Park Hyatt at the Bellevue Hotel, which recently celebrated its 100th birthday, is located in a magnificently restored National Historic Landmark building and features one of the city’s most memorable views from its newly renovated 19th-floor restaurant.
- The 500-room Courtyard by Marriott, Philadelphia Downtown is located in the site that was formally the City Hall Annex, just off Broad and Market Streets. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Courtyard has the best of contemporary comforts as a full-service hotel.
- The 270-room, Art Deco-style Residence Inn Philadelphia Center City, in the former Market Street National Bank, offers extended-stay rooms ranging from studios to one- and two-bedroom suites that include a fully equipped kitchen, as well as meeting space and fitness facilities.
- The 425-room Doubletree Hotel offers visitors full-service amenities, as well as a spectacular view of the Academy of Music.
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