I am almost done talking about William Penn

Congrats to Beth Mamolella hailing from Chicago, IL for correctly answering our trivia. William Penn is pointing northeast towards Penn Treaty Park, where he made a treaty of friendship with the Native Americans in 1682. I have also heard that he is pointing towards England...but that hasn't been confirmed.

Now a little information about Philadelphia and William Penn's statue above City Hall. The statue was built by Alexander Milne Calder. At one time, there was a gentleman's agreement that no building should be higher than Penn's statue. One Liberty Place was among the first of several buildings in the late 1980s to be built higher than Penn beginning the so called Curse of William Penn. This curse refers to the failure of professional sports teams in Philly to win championships since March 1987 when One Liberty Place skyscraper exceeded the height of Penn's statue. The last professional team to win a championship was the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1983 NBA Finals, when they swept the Los Angeles Lakers in four games. The curse has gained such prominence in Philly that a film by the same name, The Curse of William Penn, was produced in 2006.

Another bit of information regarding Penn's Statue is that at 37 feet tall it is the largest single piece of sculpture on any building in the world. The statue stands on City Hall, which is the tallest building ever constructed without a skeleton of steel girders and the largest municipal building in the United States.

Since I have been talking so frequently about William Penn and his statue atop City Hall, I thought I would include a picture. You may make your own assumptions about the statue but folks....it is his hand...or a treaty or something like that....but not what you think

Today I also went to two Philly eateries. Tony Lukes, which is a very popular cheesesteak place on the southside of Chicago. For dinner I went to Tommy Gunns which is a barbecue place located right in Manayunk. It was founded by a La Salle University (a Christian Brother's school in Philly) graduate who previously worked on Wall Street and quit his job to start Tommy Gunns. It now has two locations and a catering service. Great Barbecue....I am sure Collin might want to visit this place.

Here are some pics from my visit to Tommy Gunns.