Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia, Guida per visitatori e cosa fare nei dintorni

Rittenhouse Square is a public park in Center City, Philadelphia, and one of the five original squares in William Penn's plan for the city. Today it is a tree-shaded green space ringed by apartment buildings, cafes and shops, and it is where Philadelphians come to sit, read and watch the city go by.

The story behind it

When Penn's surveyor Thomas Holme mapped Philadelphia in the 1680s, he set aside five public squares. This one was first called Southwest Square. In 1825 it was renamed for David Rittenhouse, the Philadelphia astronomer and clockmaker who became the first director of the United States Mint.

Over the 19th century the square turned into one of the city's most fashionable addresses, with townhouses and later grand apartment buildings built around its edges. Its formal look, with diagonal paths crossing toward a central plaza, comes from a redesign by the architect Paul Cret in the early 20th century.

What to look for

• Look for the bronze goat known as Billy by sculptor Albert Laessle, whose back and head are worn smooth by generations of children climbing and rubbing him.
• Find Paul Manship's Duck Girl, a small bronze figure of a girl holding a duck, set near a pool in the square.
• Seek out the bronze Lion Crushing a Serpent, a dramatic piece after the French sculptor Antoine-Louis Barye, which stands near the park's edge.
• Notice how the diagonal paths pull you toward the central plaza, and how the tall buildings around the square frame the treetops.

Tips for your visit

• It is an open public park, so you can walk in and sit down without a ticket. Allow 20 to 30 minutes, or longer if you stop for a coffee.
• Morning and late afternoon are pleasant, when the light is softer and locals are walking dogs or heading home from work.
• The streets around the square, especially Walnut Street, are full of shops, restaurants and cafes, so it works well as a break in a longer walk through Center City.
• Benches fill up on sunny days, so arrive a little early if you want a quiet seat near the sculptures.

See it on a quest

The Oz Escape in Philadelphia, Center City brings you to the square on foot as one stop on a longer route through Center City. The app tells you about each place as you arrive and sets a puzzle in what is in front of you, with an Oz theme running through the walk. One ticket covers the whole group.

Murder Mystery: Death in the Shadows in Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia is built around the square and the streets near it. You walk between places, hear about each one as you reach it and solve a puzzle on the spot, which makes you look closely at details most visitors walk past. One ticket covers the whole group.

Dorothy’s Quest: The Trials of Oz in Philadelphia is another Oz-themed walk that passes the square. You travel on foot from stop to stop, get the story of each place from the app and work out a puzzle as you stand there. One ticket covers the whole group.