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August 2023 by Kyle Weber
Talk about a hidden gem. I've visited Philadelphia enough to see the "Second Bank" signs and assumed they referred to a historical bank exhibit or maybe tours of a historical building. It's only after I started looking for other things to do in this area that I realized this is actually a portrait gallery -- and a great one at that! Not only does it provide a rich collection of portraits of the founders and their contemporaries, the surrounding explanatory text does an amazing job of not only giving you a flavor of each historical figure but also teasing out the connections between these famous individuals that are often lost in biographies of each individual man and women featured here. The staff is extraordinarily knowledgable and helpful as well, and my only regret was only budgeting a short amount of time for seeing what turned out to be a wonderful museum near downtown Philadelphia. Highly recommended!
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August 2023 by William Hu
Decent gallery with cool portraits but overall definitely skippable especially if short on time
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March 2022 by Jose Ortega
A cool building that has an interesting history. It is worth your time to go inside.
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January 2022 by Matthew U.
Who doesn't like free? Throw in some art and history, and you got me. After a day of walking around and standing in lines to see other sites, I just walked right in here and went about the exhibits at my own pace. I realize that as I am writing this, this may not be open to the public because of the uptick in the new wave. The main exhibit in here is the 'People of Independence.' Which gives you a glimpse of how things were back in those times. The description states something along the lines of "those that prized order and reason" while living in a world or disease, slavery, and the unknown. Oh, if they only knew. The building itself was an amazing piece of art itself. High ceilings, original fixtures, and your typical looking bank building. They have made a few upgrades to the building, but overall it looks like how it was intended to look. Like I said, I went at my own pace here to take in what I wanted, when I wanted. Be aware of the other people in here, some of them will attempt to push you along. Just stand your ground and you will discover a bit of history that you were unaware of.
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October 2021 by Matt U.
This is a great spot to go when you've got a half hour to kill. Once you're in, it's a quick tour through 200+ original portraits of founding fathers and other fundamental figures from the infancy of the USA. Self guided and easy to get through as fast or slow as you'd like. The back room on the right (from where you come in) had a quick, but very interesting read on what the "Bank of the US" actually is and how it was ultimately replaced by the federal reserve. The learning never stops here! Check this exhibit out if you've got 30 minutes and love those portraits!
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August 2021 by Bonnie Robinson
No tickets needed for this free portrait gallery. If you're with kids, ask the rangers about trading cards so you can find paintings of notable historical figures.
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August 2021 by Dylan Berwick
Tons of awesome paintings of early leaders. Free too. Would highly recommend.
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August 2021 by Sophia Tu
Cool place with portraits of famous people. No tickets or anything needed, you just walk in and there is a wide open space with rows of portraits. It also has a statue of George Washington and a bust of Benjamin Franklin. There's also a room in the back with an even larger collection of portraits of lesser known people by Charles Peale. Worth a look.
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July 2021 by Jeremy J.
While we were in Philadelphia we got to explore and Touro a lot of different building and see a lot of sites. The second bank of the United States is one of the things that we got to explore and take pictures of. It is very old building obviously but it is still held up pretty strong and it is a really fun experience learning about all the history
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July 2021 by Christian Kolb
Highly surest you go through this museum. It is full of around 200 original portraits of so many of those that helped start this country. From George Washington and his wife to Alexander Hamilton and so many others. They even will show you how they made shadow paintings and also a number of very small paintings that people took with them like they may take a picture of there kids today and put in there wallet. The Architect is very cool as well. Well worth the time to go through and enjoy.
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July 2021 by Jared Lesueur
worth visiting it is completely free as well as very iconic to American history period this is kind of where the first Wall Street was before the real Wall Street happened in New York period so there are a lot of old Banks as well as the actual first bank just down the road and the first stock exchange. inside is okay paintings are interesting but not like too overwhelming but a lot of interesting faces to kind of get a feel for what early American gentlemen look like
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July 2021 by S M K
Great spot for portraits, architecture and history.Well presented exhibits with connections made for most portraits. Some text panels include people of color and their context. Most connect the portraits in each gallery.The Peale gallery is stunning. Be sure to go into the studio gallery and lift the protective cloth to see the miniature portraits. The garnet framed miniature is stunning.Check out the basement, where you’ll find the restrooms, for a great view of the true construction of the building. The exposed brick and mortar give you a great viewpoint of the foundation of the building.In the first gallery to the right upon entry, you’ll find two paintings of the Philadelphia coat of arms. Both a beautiful presentation of this iconic symbol. Incidentally, the George Washington portrait in the same gallery was done by the younger Peale. He paints himself and his brother in the portait as well.Lots of details everywhere. Take your time and absorb the portraits. This is a enhanced and possible from the well worded text panels.
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June 2021 by Vincent L.
If it wasn't for the fact that the security guards here were on a MAGA power trip when I stopped by, this would be quite an approachable venue here in Old City, helped by the fact that it's totally free. It's a collection of portraits of many "founding fathers," whether signers of the Declaration of Independence or prominent people in early Philadelphia society. Some figures, like Ben Franklin, are understandably covered more than once. The galleries are arranged by the area of the subject's contribution to society (education and business, for example) and have informative displays about how each area functioned in early Philadelphia. So it's still an educational stroll even if the portraits all look the same to you. As for the guards, they were very specific in taking issue at non-Caucasian visitors like me, whether staring at them at length as if they were aliens like one ginormous bearded dude did, or directly questioning them and their rationale for being there like one woman did. Caucasian visitors, meanwhile, were greeted warmly to the galleries and were proactively offered explanations on everything inside. Pro tip: people who aren't of Caucasian descent are just as American as those who are.
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November 2020 by Nazli Abhari
Interesting place to visit if you are in town. The building has limited operating hours so be sure to check that before you head there. It will be a short amount of time spent here, anywhere from 40-60 minutes. The building is also well lit at night and makes for great pictures.
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February 2020 by Franny L.
Fantastic free exhibit! Thank you National Parks Service! This was a great stop on a day of Philadelphia sightseeing.