Philadelphia Museum of Art - Information : Press Room : Press Releases : 1996

September 16th, 1996

Museum President To Lead Tour Of Fairmount Park Houses

Cyclists and architecture aficianados can indulge both interests during A Celebration of Architecture on Sunday, October 6, 1996, during the President's Bike Tour with Robert Montgomery Scott. A Celebration of Architecture, which begins at 2:00 at the Philadelphia Museum of Art's West Entrance, will lead cyclists through beautiful Fairmount Park and will include visits to several of the Park's celebrated collection of 18th-century country seats, including Lemon Hill, Mount Pleasant and Cedar Grove. Admission to the President's Bike Tour is $2.00 for adults, $1 for children, and includes refreshments served at the conclusion of the tour.

The President's Bike Tour is a twice-yearly opportunity to combine physical exercise with the pleasures of sightseeing in Fairmount Park, the largest municipal park in the world. Robert Montgomery Scott, who has been the Museum's President and CEO since 1982 and an avid cyclist since childhood, initiated the Bike Tour to bring public attention to the remarkable beauty of Fairmount Park and the group of historic houses and sculpture that it contains. The Fairmount Park Houses are considered to be the most significant group of 18th- and early 19th-century examples of domestic architecture in the United States. Illustrating over a century and a half of style, fashion and domestic life, the historic houses of Fairmount Park are preserved and maintained by a number of private and civic organizations (including the Philadelphia Museum of Art) and provide the visitor with a unique glimpse into Philadelphia's rich cultural history.

For further information about A Celebration of Architecture and the Fairmount Park Houses, call the Park House Guides at (215) 684-7926.

The Philadelphia Museum of Art is among the largest museums in the United States, with a collection of more than 227,000 works of art and more than 200 galleries presenting painting, sculpture, works on paper, photography, decorative arts, textiles, and architectural settings from Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the United States. Its facilities include its landmark Main Building on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, the Perelman Building, located nearby on Pennsylvania Avenue, the Rodin Museum on the 2200 block of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, and two 18th-century houses in Fairmount Park, Mount Pleasant and Cedar Grove. The Museum offers a wide variety of activities for public audiences, including special exhibitions, programs for children and families, lectures, concerts and films.

For additional information, contact the Marketing and Communications Department of the Philadelphia Museum of Art at (215) 684-7860. The Philadelphia Museum of Art is located on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway at 26th Street. For general information, call (215) 763-8100, or visit the Museum's website at www.philamuseum.org.