Philly vs. DC

I'm in Washington, DC yesterday and today for work. While I work from my home in Philadelphia, my employer, the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, is located in DC and I am here 1-2 times a month. We're in new office space. It's only 3 blocks from the old digs and still at the same metro stop - Farragut North - but it feels like a new neigbhorhood. The new super close landmarks are ABC News (this is where Nightline is done), The Mayflower Hotel and National Geographic. About two blocks away is the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) but I'll only walk over there for a protest.

I lived in DC for 9 years. College for 3 years (I spent my junior year abroad in Jerusalem) and then for six years after graduation. In August of 2005 I moved to Philadelphia and minus a 3 month stint this past fall in Milwaukee (to stop reinistatement of the death penalty in Wisconsin), Philadelphia is my new home. But because I am in DC frequently for work and because some of my best friends in the world are here, in some ways I feel that I have 2 homes. Though when I see my friend Jason, he always kids with me asking when I'm moving to DC...I think Philly will be my home for the forseeable future.

DC is known for its museums. The Smithsonian museums and scores of other museums some of which do have an entry fee like the Phillips Collection or the Corcoran. But Philly seems just as impressive with its cultural options.

On Sunday my girlfriend and I went to the Barnes Foundation. I've been to some of the most heralded art museums in the country: in NYC: The Met, MOMA, Frick Collection. In DC: National Gallery of Art East and West Wing. In Chicago, it's famous art museum, the Detriot Institute of Art the Houston Fine Art museum, the Getty in Los Angeles and others. The Barnes Foundation is easily in the top tier of art museums if not right at the top. I've got to get to work, but I'll blog more about the Barnes soon, including the controversy of whether it should be moved from its current site just outside of Philly or onto Ben Franklin Parkway where its neighbors would be Philly's other great museums: The Franklin Institue, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Rodin Museum and the Free Library.