Women Who Shaped Philadelphia Self Guided Audio Walking Tour

Ona Judge - The woman who walked toward freedom. President's House site. Liberty Bell Center. We've arrived at the site of the president's house. The first White House. George Washington lived here while serving as the nation's first president, and so did Ona Judge. A young black woman enslaved in his household. She was born at Mount Vernon to an enslaved woman named Betty and an English tailor. At just 16, Ona was brought to Philadelphia to serve as Martha Washington's personal attendant. Ona was never paid. Never free. But she listened. She watched. She planned. And one night in 1796, while the Washingtons ate dinner, she walked out the door, disappeared into the streets of Philadelphia, and ran toward freedom.(30 min)

Lucretia Mott. The Relentless Reformer. You're now standing outside the Arch Street Friends Meeting House, a sacred space of silence, simplicity, and social justice. This is where Lucretia Mott worshiped, meditated, and organized a Quaker teacher, mother of six, and lifelong abolitionist, Lucretia. Believed deeply that men and women of every race were equals in the eyes of God, and she acted like it.(5 min)

Elizabeth Willing Powel. The quiet influencer. You're standing outside the elegant Georgian facade of the Powell House, home to Elizabeth Willing Powel, one of the most politically influential women you've never heard of. In the late 1700s, while men gathered at Independence Hall to imagine a new republic, Elizabeth hosted salons here that shaped the minds of those very men. George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams were all regulars at her gatherings. She had no formal political power, but her intelligence, her network and her writing were undeniable forces.(5 min)

Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, poet of the people. Picture this. It's the mid 1800s, and a young black woman rises to speak in a crowded hall in Philadelphia. She clears her throat and then lets fly with words so powerful the room goes still. This is Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, a free black woman born in Baltimore. She came to Philadelphia in her 20s and made this city her home and her megaphone.(5 min)

Dr Ann Preston breaking the Scalpel Ceiling. Historic site of Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania Imagine walking into a 19th century operating theater. Every day, the room turns towards you. Not with respect, but with disdain. Because you're a woman and they don't think you belong here. That's what faced Doctor and Preston. And the woman that she taught. In 1850, she graduated from the Female Medical College of Pennsylvania, the first institution in the world to train women as doctors(5 min)

Marian Anderson – The Voice of Dignity. We arrived at the Academy of Music, built in 1857, one of the oldest opera houses in the United States, and once it turned Marian Anderson away. Marian was born in 1897, in South Philadelphia, raised in a humble rowhouse. She began singing in the Union Baptist Church choir at age six.By age 12, her voice was a rich, velvety contralto. It was already drawing from her community.(5 min)

Franklin Court Garden, or perhaps a nearby cafe such as Talula's Daily, which is located at 208 West Washington Square.(25 min)