Center / Architecture + Design

Chinatown & Center City East


Run by the American Institute of Architects, there's an exhibition space here with regularly changing exhibits about local architecture projects. Check their online calendar to find out about lectures and other events.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Chinatown & Center City East attractions

1. Fabric Workshop & Museum

0.02 MILES

The only such organization of its kind in the US is a wonderful place to discover how creative artists and craftspeople can be with textiles and fabrics…

2. Reading Terminal Market

0.1 MILES

Getting the balance just right between food shopping hub and dining destination, Reading Terminal Market opened way back in 1893 and it's been a…

3. Pennsylvania Convention Center

0.11 MILES

Opened in 1993 and expanded in 2011, this massive convention center hosts a busy program of events from the mayor's masked ball and annual horticultural…

4. Masonic Temple

0.12 MILES

Although the fortress-like exterior of this 1873 building is pretty impressive, it's the spectacular interiors – which took a further 15 years to complete…

5. Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts

0.15 MILES

This prestigious arts school, founded in 1805, occupies two buildings including a masterwork of Victorian Gothic architecture designed by Frank Furness…

6. Paint Torch

0.16 MILES

This 51ft fiberglass paintbrush with an accompanying giant blob of paint is a 2011 work by Claes Oldenburg. At night the orange paint-coated bristles of…

7. City Hall

0.19 MILES

Completed in 1901 following 30 years of construction, City Hall takes up a whole block, and at 548ft is the world's tallest structure without a steel…

8. Chinese Friendship Gate

0.24 MILES

At the junction with Arch St and marking the entrance to Chinatown, this 40ft structure was built in 1984 in part by artisans from Philadelphia's sister…