Liberty, Faith, and Finance

Walk the streets of Old City Philadelphia, where revolution, faith, finance, and learning converged in the pivotal years around 1776. Beginning in the State House Yard—the heart of the movement for independence—the tour traces the city’s transformation from colonial capital to the political center of a new nation. 

Along the way, explore the institutions that shaped that world: Philosophical and Library Halls, the early campus of the University of Pennsylvania, Carpenters’ Hall, and the first banks that financed both war and peace. The walk also highlights the city’s varied religious life—St. Mary’s and its 1781 Te Deum for Yorktown, the Arch Street Meeting House, and the site of Zion Lutheran Church, where Philadelphians gathered for George Washington’s memorial service in 1799.

The tour concludes at Christ Church, parish home to many of Philadelphia’s founders and the site of the famed bells hidden during the British occupation—a story closely tied to Gloria Dei itself.

This tour is sponsored by Preserve Old Swedes, the non-profit organization that preserves and interprets Gloria Dei (Old Swedes') Church. 100% of the proceeds will go toward the preservation of this national historic site.