PHILADELPHIA COMMEMORATES ITS HISTORIC ROLE IN LEWIS & CLARK’S PIONEERING JOURNEY
Bicentennial Celebration Features Exhibits Throughout The Region

PHILADELPHIA, July 14, 2004 – As the nation’s leading center for medicine in the early 19^th century, Philadelphia played a major role in the success of Lewis and Clark’s journey through the Louisiana Territory to find a water route to the Pacific Ocean. It was here that the heroic duo prepared for their 1803 trek. Captain Meriwether Lewis met with his mentors, notably Dr. Benjamin Rush, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, who helped him with his studies in botany, field medicine, paleontology and mathematics. Lewis also purchased 3,500 pounds of supplies, including clothing, Native American trading goods and navigational instruments.

Visitors to Philadelphia can celebrate Lewis and Clark’s historic journey with a host of special events and exhibits focused on various aspects of the duo’s trip. Here’s what’s in store:

• The American Philosophical Society presents Stuffing Birds, Pressing Plants, Shaping Knowledge: Natural History in North America, 1730-1860, featuring more than 260 images and artifacts that explore the study of natural history as it was developed in North America. Historic natural history specimens, including plants collected by Lewis and Clark on their epic trek across the continent, will be on display, as well as rare books, manuscripts and works of art. Through December 2004. Philosophical Hall, 104 S. 5^th Street, (215) 440-3400, www.amphilsoc.org
   

• The College of Physicians contributes to the citywide celebration with Only One Man Died: Medical Adventures on the Lewis & Clark Trail, an exhibit offering a window into the world of health and medicine circa 1803. The exhibit examines how the explorers coped with challenges that arose during their journey, as well as how they lived, what they ate and ways they amused themselves. Among the treasures on display are Dr. Benjamin Rush’s medicine chest, period medical instruments from the College’s Mütter Museum, sections of an early 19^th-century pharmacy and a reconstruction of a Native American sweat lodge. Through February 2006. 19 S. 22^nd Street, (215) 563-3737, www.collphyphil.org
   

• The Franklin Institute Science Museum features the IMAX film “Lewis & Clark: Great Journey West” as part of the city’s commemoration of the famous exploring duo. September 25, 2004-March 2005. 222 N. 20^th Street, (215) 448-1200, www.fi.edu  
   

• At the center of the Lewis and Clark celebration in Philadelphia is Lewis and Clark: The National Bicentennial Exhibition at the Academy of Natural Sciences. Philadelphia will be the first East Coast venue and one of only five cities to host this display, comparing the assumptions of Lewis and Clark and Native Americans in such areas as politics and diplomacy, women, geography, animals, language, property and health. The Academy’s collection of plant specimens collected by the explorers also will figure prominently. November 6, 2004-March 20, 2005. 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, (215) 299-1000, www.acnatsci.org,  www.lewisandclarkexhibit.org
   

• The Athenaeum will mount an extensive exhibit of its engravings of Birch’s Views to coincide with the Lewis and Clark: The National Bicentennial Exhibition hosted by the Academy of Natural Sciences. November 6, 2004-March 20, 2005. 219 S. 6^th Street, (215) 925-2688, www.philaathenaeum.org
   

• The Philadelphia Museum of Art presents Lewis and Clark Revisited: A Trail in Modern Day, Photographs by Greg Mac Gregor. The exhibition features 60 of Mac Gregor’s black-and-white photographs of points along the Lewis and Clark route, created over a six-year period in the 1990s. Excerpts from the explorers' original writings are included, paralleling Mac Gregor’s emphasis on the human presence in the landscape and its impact on these sites today. December 11, 2004-February 6, 2005. 26^th Street & the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, (215) 763-8100, www.philamuseum.org
   

• Moore College of Art and Design presents Lewis & Clark Territory: Contemporary Artists Revisit Place, Race and Memory, an exhibition of recent art from a broad spectrum of media that explores the relationship between the American land and identity. January 28-March 20, 2005. 20^th Street & the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, (215) 568-4515, www.moore.edu

The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC), Philadelphia's regional tourism marketing agency, is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to building the region's economy and positive image through tourism and destination marketing. For more information about travel to Philadelphia, call the new Independence Visitor Center, located in Independence National Historical Park, at (800) 537-7676, or visit www.gophila.com. For information about arts and cultural attractions in the region, click on the CultureFiles link.

Note to Editors: For photos of Greater Philadelphia, visit the photo gallery of gophila.com/pressroom.  

July 2004

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