Round Museum

While you're waiting for your Di Bruno Brothers' cheesemonger to slice your order, you might gaze up at the ornate Round patterning pressed into the tin ceiling -- a nod to The Benjamin Franklin building's historical origins as a grand Center City hotel in the mid 1920s. Di Bruno Brothers opened this most recent shop here in “The Ben” in 2013, but began its import of many culinary delights way back in 1939 in South Philadelphia's Italian Market.

03.09.10

Sorry, can you just move this two ton concrete block over a little more to the right? Everyone has to come through this way to park, and the turn is just too tight to get around it. Just grab a hold of handle number two, lift it gently, and slide it over. A little more. Riiiight... there.

03.07.18

You know, don't be alarmed. But maybe you should have someone take a look at your bathtub. I don't think that bump was there before.

03.06.18

The candy shop packs a variety of sugary treats -- chewy, crispy, spun, whipped, molded, sprinkled, or crystalized onto a stick. This jar is stacked high with lemony stalagmites for the taking. Just grab a Round handle and go!

03.05.18

Happy Hour is upon us! It's Friday evening and the band is starting to set up there in the corner. Pretty soon another round of drinks will magically appear, more friends will pack the bar, and the volume will go to eleven. Most certainly there will be a drum solo if the drummer doesn't spontaneously combust first.

03.02.18

The mystical red sphere light is glowing and it's Thursday night, so it's just about time for the longest running Drag Show right here at Bob and Barbara's Lounge in Philadelphia. Back in 1969 Robert Porter and Barbara Carter opened their namesake dive bar in the Graduate Hospital neighborhood and the rest is history. Beneath the beacon of the Pabst sign order yourself The Special, and a shot of Jim Beam and a can of PBR will magically appear.

03.01.18

Where does old farm equipment go to die? Out in the yard, of course. There's probably not a farm around anywhere that doesn't have a rusting artifact or three displayed by the barn or in a nearby grassy corner.

02.28.18

Who's on the other end of this Round? If you push once for help, the call will be answered. It says so. Go ahead: Will you help me find my KeyCard? Can you get me a roast beef sandwich? This biology homework is a little confusing - what if diploid eukaryotic cells did not undergo mitosis? ...Hello?

02.21.18

If it's not worth the effort, then it's a waste of time. Pull that drain plug and send it down.

02.20.18

The view from the mouth of the bell reveals the source of the sound – the tongue strikes the lip of the Round and standing sound waves create resonance around the circumference that is the ringing you hear. The increasing diameter from top to bottom allows for different frequencies and complex musical chords.

02.17.18