Round Museum

Twisted and tangled in a dense, swirly cylinder, the root ball of this spider plant needs more room to stretch out. Time for repotting! Momma spider needs to grow and dangle a few adventitious spiderettes around the garden.

05.22.20

In colonial Pennsylvania, the agricultural economy was driven by grain farming with a thriving market producing flour, processing fiber, and distilling. Millstones such as this did the hard work to grind the grains, and by 1771, Philadelphia was exporting five million pounds of flour. The Thompson-Neely farmstead benefited from their proximity to the city, and by the early 1800s had grown into an expansive enterprise -- with a grist mill, a saw mill, cooper’s shop, distillery, store, sawyer’s house, miller’s house, assorted barns and buildings, and wheat farmed on 500 acres of land.

So, what is being drained in a sparkly green drain pipe, you ask? Well, we asked that, too. The answer is not clear, but we can deduce a few things. First, there is no evident radioactivity despite the color. Second, while it's practically summer time, this could be a remnant from St. Patrick's Day. Third, the location in a South Philly neighborhood near 95 indicates a strong connection to Eagles Nation.

05.20.20

The soup pot is on the fire in the kitchen at Shofuso. A traditional 17th-century Japanese house and garden located in Philadelphia's West Fairmount Park, the kitchen features a "three burner" stove allowing for three separate fires. Shofuso was built in 1953 and originally exhibited in the courtyard of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. It was relocated to Philadelphia in 1958, was restored in 1976 and currently is open to the public. But, no soup for you.

05.19.20

Chances are if you've walked the streets and sidewalks in America's cities you've seen a "stikman." For nearly 30 years, the guerrilla artist known as Stikman has placed more than 14,000 of them from Philadelphia to New York to Washington, DC to Hollywood and many places in between, like the Johnny Appleseed of street art. Resembling a robot, alien or zombie, stikmen are constructed from different materials and stuck to walls, utility boxes, streets and rusty gears. This one is hidden away on a crank by Race Street Pier in Philadelphia, PA.

05.18.20

Lighting can affect your mood and your mind. The soothing purple glow from Round paper lanterns is ambiance to calm your brainwaves, to help you think deep thoughts. Look into the light. You're getting sleepy. Very very sleepy.

05.17.20

Hard-boiled, cut in half and filled with a creamy spiced-up paste made from the egg yolks, the Deviled Egg is a favorite appetizer all around the world. The devil in the recipe is the zesty mustard or pepper spices, not the Lord of Darkness, but there are other names if you prefer. Stuffed? Dressed? In France, you can call them mimosa eggs. Hungarians enjoy a casino egg, while in South America Peruvian eggs are served. But regardless of the name, be an angel and pass that special egg serving tray this way!

05.16.20

Everyone said, 'Don't panic' and 'Don't hoard the toilet paper' and 'Hey, that old lady had the package first!' You listened, but now look where you're sitting. And not a roll in sight.

05.15.20

More than 100 years ago, Alfred C. Gilbert patented and sold the first modular, metal construction set he called "The Erector / Structural Steel and Electro-Mechanical Builder." With many individual pieces, connectors and a motor, you could build just about anything with it –- dynamic structures, cranes, robots, clocks. One of the most popular models since its very beginning in 1913 has been the Ferris Wheel. Though at first it could only be built in a hexagonal shape, in 1920 the Round was introduced, and by Set No.12 in 1949, the wheel was fully perfected.

The three-martini lunch was an indulgence for many a business executive in the 60s and 70s and while it may be a bygone practice, a one-martini hors d'oeuvre is a good libation to start anything. Even the lunch hour.

05.13.20