Manhattan’s Museum Mile has an out-of-town friend, and it’s called the Parkway Museum District. Philadelphia’s Benjamin Franklin Parkway — designed to resemble the Champs-Élysées — is lined with major art museums that rival anything we have in NYC, all within easy walking distance of one another. To boot, dozens of other museums, galleries, events and the famed Mural Mile make for an artful weekend trip.
The heaviest hitter is the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the front steps of which tourists still speed-run up all day, re-creating the iconic scene from “Rocky” (a statue of Rocky Balboa is located just to the stair’s right for your photo-op pleasure).
“Design for the Modern Child” is at PMA from May 25 to Oct. 13, and until June 9 you can see “Great and Mighty Things,” an eclectic collection of “outsider art” by self-taught folks like New Orleans gospel singer Sister Gertrude Morgan. From July 13 to Sept. 8, get a first look at the museum’s new permanent acquisitions, many never on view before, including an 1881 Monet, “Path on the Island of Saint Martin, Vetheuil” (philamuseum.org).
Speaking of Monet, the wealth of French Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works at the Barnes Foundation — which boasts 46 Picassos alone — makes one itch to watch Woody Allen’s “Midnight in Paris” again. Relocated from its suburban Merion, Pa., base last year to this brand-new Parkway building, the late Dr. Albert Barnes’ collection is displayed just as he intended: densely. Be mindful — security guards are quick to swoop in if someone gets too close to the artwork, which happens quite frequently. From May 4 to Sept. 2, a temporary exhibition, “Ellsworth Kelly: Sculpture on the Wall,” showcases the abstract artist’s major works. Visits are timed every half-hour, and walk-up tickets extremely limited ($22 adults; $10 students; $45 docent-led tour), so book tickets as far in advance as possible (barnesfoundation.org).
Renovated last year, the Rodin Museum is well worth a stop (and, ahem, think), featuring a bronze version of the sculptor’s “The Gates of Hell,” inspired by Dante’s Divine Comedy and commissioned for a never-realized Paris decorative arts museum (rodinmuseum.org).
A couple of blocks from the Benjamin Franklin Parkway’s southeast end, at Center City’s Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, PAFA students just beginning to realize their talents will be exhibited from May 10 to June 2, while seasoned Brooklyn artist Jennifer Bartlett receives a retrospective, “History of the Universe — Works 1970-2011,” from June 27 to Oct. 13. And coming next year: David Lynch fans can take in the off-kilter filmmaker’s paintings, photographs and sculptures from Sept. 5, 2014 to Jan. 15, 2015. (118 N. Broad St., pafa.org ).
Focusing on contemporary work, Rittenhouse Square’s Philadelphia Art Alliance presents a world premiere — and totally genius — exhibition, “Emily Spivak: Sentimental Value,” in which the artist displays items she won on eBay with their intriguing backstories and sellers’ anecdotes (251 S. 18th St., philartalliance.org). In April, Rittenhouse Park itself became a permanent, interactive installation via the 99-cent iPhone app “The Empty Air,” which uses GPS to trigger musician Michael Kiley’s textured sound designs and an original song.
Also modern-minded, the University of Pennsylvania’s Institute of Contemporary Art will host a pair of exhibitions from April 24 to July 28: one by Scottish sculptor Karla Black, and the student-curated “Each One As She May,” featuring work by Glenn Ligon, Steve Reich and Anna Teresa De Keersmaeker (118 S. 36th St., caphila.org).
The best time to check out Philly’s smaller, independent galleries in Old City is on First Fridays, between 5 and 9 p.m. Download a participating gallery map at oldcityarts.org.
Starting in April and extending into the fall months, the city’s Mural Arts Program offers numerous tours, via foot, trolley, subway and bicycle, that share the stories behind Philly’s many large-scale works (muralarts.org). One mural off the beaten path to check out, in multiethnic South Philly, is painter Brian Senft’s depiction of Italy’s lush, rustic Abruzzo region at Le Virtu, where you can refuel with housemade charcuterie and Abruzzese pasta specialties (1927 E. Passyunk Ave., levirtu.com).
Looking forward to fall, FringeArts’ 10,000-square-foot performance arts center and festival (Sept. 6 to 21) will debut in a former fire-hydrant pumping station built in 1903. Located on the Delaware River waterfront in Old City, it includes a 225-seat theater, outdoor plaza and restaurant/bar (fringearts.com).
A year-round must: Blending art and commerce, Williamsburg-style, is Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, a shop/gallery stocking local artisanal goods like graphic T-shirts, Norman Porter Co. denim jeans, Forage Haberdashery’s men’s ties, Side Project Beef Jerky and AAMR’s own line of spirits like the Pennsylvania Dutch ginger-snap-flavored SNAP. A diverse array of multimedia exhibitions and in-store performances by hipster creators, from Seattle’s Sub Pop Records to Brooklyn typographer Jessica Hische, fill the gallery side’s calendar (116 N. Third St., artintheage.com).
Where to stay? Within a few minutes’ walk to Art in the Age, Old City’s gallery district and FringeArts, the artful 268-room Hotel Monaco opened in 2012 (from $247, monaco-philadelphia.com). Located just across the street from Independence Park and the Liberty Bell, this colorful, contemporary property is adorned with photos from Philly’s eccentric Mardi Gras-esque Mummers Parade. Complimentary guest amenities are generous — daily wine hour, Wi-Fi, use of bicycles — while in-house Red Owl Tavern features superb New American fare by James Beard Award-winning chef Guillermo Tellez.
THE ART OF EATING
Conveniently, many new, excellent restaurants have popped up in Center City and the Parkway Museum District over the past couple of years.
Prolific restaurateur Stephen Starr’s Granite Hill, boasting a decadent lobster mac and cheese, is located within the Philadelphia Museum of Art itself, while his UK-themed, Spotted Pig-resembling the Dandelion (124 S. 18th St., thedandelionpub.com) presents authentic gastropub fare, like a massive family-style Sunday roast replete with Yorkshire pudding and, at brunch, excellent Scotch Pancakes topped with a scoop of cinnamon whipped cream. Tip: Ask to sit in the Good Dog Bar Room, featuring canine-centric tchotchkes.
Chef Greg Vernick’s elegant-casual Vernick Food & Drink serves up globally influenced small plates and deliciously charred sourdough toast topped with the likes of beef tartare and peas and bacon (2031 Walnut St., vernickphilly.com).
Philadelphia Art Alliance’s on-site restaurant, Rittenhouse Tavern, offers chef Nicholas Elmi’s locavore New American fare, including a roasted Amish chicken breast with thyme reduction, in a historic setting (251 S. 18th St., rittenhousetavern.com).