East Falls Fairmount Park Historical Loop

4 hours with lunch at Bill Murphys's, 6-8 miles, hills, Strawberry Mansion, Strawberry Mansion Bridge, East Laurel Hill Cemetery, St John's The Less, Wanamaker Memorial Bell Tower, Sherman Mills Glass Blowing Studio and Art Center, Bill Murphys Irish Saloon and the Grace Kelly House.

The East Falls Fairmount Park Hike takes us past/through many incredible places. We start at the Grace Kelly House which will keep us out of traffic. It has several other advantages too.
We’ll head through the beautiful Ravenwood Campus of Jefferson U, formerly Phila U, former Phila Textiles. Then we hit Kelly Drive for about a mile till we reach Strawberry Mansion Bridge over the Schuylkill which is one of the coolest bridges in the city. It has a boardwalk the size of Boardwalk in Atlantic City along with the historical train tracks from trolley line that ran through Fairmount Park. We also get great views of the rowers along the Schuylkill. One of the best places to watch the boat races during a regatta.

Right above the bridge is Strawberry Mansion built circa 1750 on a ridge overlooking the Schuylkill. From here we pass the Robin Hood Dell Concert Center to the Laurel Hill East Cemetery where many famous historical characters are interred including several faux gravesites of characters from the Rocky movie. Even saw a Rocky impersonator there once. From the cemetery high about the Schuylkill you get maybe the best views of the Schuylkill possible. We'll also visit several gravesites of famous individuals like Harry Kalas famed Phillies and sports announcer.

From here we head over to a most incredible place in a very unlikely location: St James the Less. The church built in 1846 used blueprints of an English church built in 1400. Exact except they left out the thatched roof. The Wanamaker Memorial Bell Tower, built 1906 on the church grounds, bells toll every 15 minutes. The family of John Wanamaker of department store fame is buried here. This area is like walking into the 14th century from a very nondescript neighborhood.

Our next stop is up the hill to Sherman Mills Glass blowing studios where if we are lucky we can view a glass blowing demonstration. Up the hill we continue towards Bill Murphy's Irish Saloon where we can get great food and beer; nothing Irish about it, but the looks and name.

Lots of history and stories to talk about on this hike. A little more about Grace Kelly.
For those not from Philly or too young to remember, Grace Kelly was the daughter of a renowned Philadelphia family (Kelly Drive) who became a world famous movie star only to give up her career to become the Princess of Monaco (marrying the prince or king). She was probably the most famous person in the world at that time. Her son, Albert, in 2016 repurchased and restored the house where his mother grew up. We once lucked out and got a tour of the house by her nephew. Interesting story. FYI : Kelly Drive is named after Grace Kelly's brother, Jack, who was a city councilman and Olympic Gold Medal rower. (Jack's son, who is also a Jack, gave us the tour. He looks very much like his aunt Grace.) Her father was also an Olympic Gold Medal winner in rowing. A statue of him is along the Schuylkill near the rowing finishing line viewing stand.

Carpooling To carpool from Hill House (201 W Evergreen Ave, Phila) meet 30 minutes before the event. Carpool time changes if hike time changes. Text me 215-2474459, 3-4 days in advance.

GENERAL RULES : ••Hike at my pace. ••Hike lengths are approx: allow 30min -1hr extra. ••Donation requested. All monies donated to recreational charities like Natural Lands and the Friends of Wissahickon. •• For ~360 events each year donate $20 (2025), $30 for 2 or family or donate $5 for each event. ••Pay in person or at Zelle (215 247-4459). Thanks. The yearly donation goes down to $15 July-Aug; to $10 in Sept-Nov; Dec new year.