Philadelphia Magazine

History

City Life

Speaking of Cutting Off People’s Hands, Happy Columbus Day!

Imagine, if you will, that the man who murdered your entire family, raped your daughter, sister, and mother before killing them, tortured your son, brother, […]

City Life

Apparently, No One at PHA Has Seen Poltergeist

At 301 West Queen Lane, which intersects with Pulaski Avenue, a “Burial place for all … Negroes … and Mulattoes as they Die in any […]

City Life

The Greatest Baseball Team in Philadelphia History

The Phillies’ magnificent five-year run has come to a close, and they’ll be on the golf course come playoff time. Some think this is the greatest […]

City Life

Someone Paid $36,000 for a Can of Beer at a Lancaster Auction

Over the weekend, a Lancaster County auction attracted collectors from all over the country. One collector paid $36,000 for a can of beer. A “Gibbons […]

City Life

Housekeeper Arrested With $3 Million Benjamin Franklin Bust

A woman was arrested in Maryland for allegedly stealing a bust of Benjamin Franklin valued at over $3 million from the Bryn Mawr home at […]

City Life

Mapping the Gayborhood

The Philadelphia Gay Tourism Caucus celebrates its 10th anniversary with a new city map noting the Gayborhood, as well as trolley stops as two historic sites in Philly.

City Life

Does an Old Scrap of Paper Indicate That Jesus Had a Wife?

A historian of early Christianity at Harvard Divinity School says that a Coptic passage on a scrap of papyrus from the fourth century contains the […]

City Life

George Washington’s Three-Year Term Is Finally Up

So, you all know that George Washington led troops across the Delaware River on Christmas Day, 1776 to capture 1,000 Hessians in a surprise attack […]

City Life

Barbara Gittings Way to Be Dedicated

LGBT right pioneer Barbara Gittings is being honored Oct. 1 in Philadelphia with a dedication that renames the intersection of 13th and Locust streets in the city’s Gayborhood as “Barbara Gittings Way.” The event kicks off Equality Forum’s LGBT History Month.

City Life

Will We Ever Be Able to Laugh About 9/11?

It’s funny how 9/11 can still take over a conversation. Y’know, you’ll be at the office, talking about your TPS reports, and notice it’s almost […]

City Life

Remembering Neil Armstrong, Who Gave Us Hope for the Future

Neil Armstrong’s obituaries were only half-right. Yes, Armstrong was the first human to step foot on the moon. What’s possibly more significant, though, is that he […]

City Life

FBI Still Working 20-Year-Old Case of Murdered Burlco College Student

On August 23, 1992, 21-year-old Tammy Zywicki’s car broke down in Illinois. Her family had moved to Burlington County, New Jersey just six months before. […]

City Life

What Did Philly Look Like in 1973?

In the summer of 1973, award-winning photojournalist Dick Swanson took to the streets of Philadelphia to capture shots of daily life for the Environmental Protection […]

City Life

Did Wilt Chamberlain Really Bed 20,000 Different Women

On Tuesday, August 21st 2012, Wilt Chamberlain would have turned 76. The NBA superstar died in 1999, eight years after he claimed—in the book A […]

City Life

Augusta’s Acceptance of Women Is a Token Move

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and South Carolina financier Darla Moore are just about the luckiest little gals on the fairway, if you ask […]