In the City of Brotherly Love nerds have found a large mecca. Unsurprising for a large city with a population of 1.5 million, especially to a lot of the people who live and work in the city.
But what is about the city that has people coming from all over to visit the places their passionate about?
Jen Gray, a life long Philadelphian who works at the National Constitution Center had say this about what Philadelphia has to offer, “Obviously and most of all history…re, multiple music scenes, a huge food culture, theatre, biking, sports… Philly gets a bad rap for a lot of things but you can for sure find your niche here.”
History
Philadelphia is a city that started a nation, and for every history buff out there, there is something for them here. Independence National Park is the heart of Old City, and located within it are the biggest national landmarks known to man: Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. Every history nerd’s day would be made with a trip inside the building where the Declaration of Independence was signed, or standing near the Liberty Bell.
Also within Independence National Park is the National Constitution Center. The name fools a lot of people, thinking it to be another boring, stuffy museum, but it’s not. The Constitution Center is an interactive museum, which does it’s best to bring the United States Constitution to life with multimedia exhibits and live performances.
Music
The National Constitution Center also has one amazing exhibit, going now through September 3rd: From Asbury Park to the Promised Land: The Life and Music of Bruce Springsteen.
Gray, who works in this part of the Constitution Center, said The Boss is a big draw, “I’ve met people who flew in from Australia because there’s no Bruce dates there this year. One woman flew from Italy for her 265th show and dropped a thousand bucks in the gift shop in 4 minutes!”
Philadelphia offers a lot in the way of music, be it stores or venues. Independent music stores like a.k.a. music and Repo Records are still thriving in and industry overrun by digital downloading, especially for those music nerds whose vinyl collections are the things music dreams are made of.
Music venues are everywhere in Philadelphia, from the ones that work with Live Nation and Ticketmaster like The Electric Factory and the Theater of the Living Arts, to the more independent venues such as The Trocadero, the newer Union Transfer, and yes even the First Unitarian Church, which has rented out their church since the mid 1990’s to R5 Productions who put on various punk and alternative shows at the church.
Food
Philadelphia is known for its food culture. It created the cheesesteak (Note: this blog takes a firm non-partisan stance on Pat’s Steaks vs. Geno’s Steaks), the hoagie, and of course, Tastykake.
One place that food nerds tend to mention is Reading Terminal Market. First opened in 1892 (the Market celebrates 120 years this year), Reading Terminal is known for it’s great food. You have the Down Home Diner, diner food with a Southern twist; Dutch Eating Place, with authentic Pennsylvania Dutch home cooking, and even Basic Four Vegetarian Snack Bar, which offers natural and vegetarian snacks and foods.
Theater
It’s not Broadway, but for those whose nerdiness runs to the more refined, Philadelphia has a lot to offer, especially in the terms of theatres and where they are located. The Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia has made a handy map of where all the theaters are located.
But it’s not just being able to see a great musical or play on tour, many of the theaters or theater companies offer classes for those who want to learn different techniques such as improv, playwriting, movement and even how to audition.
The Walnut Street Theatre (celebrating 203 years), is the oldest theatre in America, and offers many of these classes, while still showing some of the biggest plays and musicals that are on tour.
Comics
No nerd article is complete without mentioning comic books. Philadelphia has a variety of comic book stores. Atomic City comics, on South Street, Fat Jack’s Comicrypt in Rittenhouse Square, and Brave New Worlds in Old City are the premiere three that people think of when talking comics.
Atomic City moved into a newer space on South Street in 2010, and now the store can hold signings and events.
Fat Jack’s Comicrypt not only has some of the best back issues of any store, but also has the added bonus of cute animals in the form of the cats that live at the store.
Brave New Worlds, is one of two stores. The flagship store, where they hold more events like Magic Tournaments and artists and celebrity signings in in Willow Grove, and the Old City location runs more towards the traditional comic book store, except for their collection of pop culture t-shirts, action figures and lampshades (yes, lampshades).
In such a diverse city, it’s hard to believe that one person couldn’t find something for their own personal niche of nerdom. From comics, to food, to theater, to history, in Philadelphia, there are all sorts of applications to go along with any particular brand of operating system.
