NPS Website; Local Website
WHAT IS IT?Small townhouse where Kosciuszko lived in the winter of 1797-98 after his exile from Poland.
BEAUTY (3/10)
It is a quaint old brick house in the nice Society Hill neighborhood of Philadelphia.
HISTORICAL INTEREST (4/10)
Thaddeus Kosciuszko was an important help to the cause of the American Revolution and a man often forgotten about by the history textbooks. If you are Polish this rating will go up. In fact, I think we may have upped it a little bit already. Also, First Lady Laura Bush visited the site a little over a year ago with Polish First Lady Jolanta Kwasniewski.
CROWDS (6/10)
No one. It would have been nice to have seen someone else.
EASE OF USE/ACCESS (2/5)
Parking was difficult. If you are already at Independence NHP it is an easy walk. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
CONCESSIONS/BOOKSTORE (1/5)
Very little.
COSTS (4/5)
Free. Parking, if you could find it, was free on the streets for an hour. More than enough time for the smallest site in the National Park System.
RANGER/GUIDE TO TOURIST RATIO (3/5)
There was both a helpful Ranger and a volunteer. The Ranger was nice but did not seem to know a great deal about General Kosciuszko.
TOURS/CLASSES (6/10)
The action cartoon film was probably produced in the 70’s but it was still both informative and cool. There was no explanation in the film, however, of Kosciuszko’s exploits post-Revolutionary War back in Poland. The audio explanation of his recreated bedroom was also very good. The General, in a will written by Thomas Jefferson, left all his monies to a fund that was to purchase and free slaves.
FUN (4/10)
I had fun. The cartoon was great and we learned.
WOULD WE RECOMMEND? (3/10)
If you are Polish or of Polish descent this rating is an 8. If not, I wouldn’t drive to Society Hill just to see this exhibit, but if you are already at Independence Hall, it could be a nice breather from the large crowds. A nice short walk accompanied by an 8 minute film and a 1 minute audio run down of the recreated bed room. 35 minutes round trip, tops.
TOTAL 36/80
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