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West of Broad Street, between Girard Avenue and Spring Garden Streets, this section of Philadelphia is also known as the Art Museum Area. Head northwest from City Hall on Benjamin Franklin Parkway and look straight ahead to get the best view of the art museum perched atop its elevated mount. To the north of the parkway is the meat and potatoes of the Fairmount area. Plenty of bars and restaurants spot this sophisticated, middle-class neighborhood. During the summer expect plenty of special events to pop up at the art museum and along the parkway, including Independence Day festivities. Flanking both sides of Franklin Parkway are plenty of tall high-rises bringing a density of life to the community. Head west of the art museum and you'll be entering Fairmount Park, the neighborhood's namesake. Beginning at the Ben Franklin Parkway, Fairmount Park encompasses more than 8,900 acres of winding creeks, rustic trails, green meadows and 100 miles of recreational trails. The world's largest landscaped urban park also contains early-American mansions, historic landmarks, a variety of outdoor sculpture, playing fields, and 19th-century Victorian structures along Boathouse Row. Spend a day in the park and then reconvene for an early evening meal or bar venture in the inviting neighborhood north and east of the museum. There are also a lot of museums around here, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Franklin Institute Science Museum, the Academy of Natural Sciences, the Moore College of Art, and the Please Touch Museum for Children, among others
Courtesy of http://www.aroundphilly.com/neighborhoods.php#artmuseum | 
