Philly Named One of America’s Quirkiest Cities

Certain cities are just a little weirder than others. While some cities give off a staid and dignified vibe, others are decidedly more offbeat. Who knew that Philadelphia would number in a list of the latter? The city scored a ranking of #18 on Travel + Leisure’s list of the 20 Quirkiest Cities in America, an honor as unique as some of the Philly attractions that earned it.

The creepy-cool vibe of Eastern State Penitentiary is just one attraction that earned Philly a spot on the list. (Flikr: Adam Jones)

Travel + Leisure humorously suggested that “there is something odd about a city that honors a big, broken bell,” but that’s not even the tip of the proverbial iceberg! The list specifically called out the Mutter Museum, dedicated to death and medical oddities, and Eastern State Penitentiary, where Al Capone was formerly incarcerated and where you can nowadays take children on scavenger hunts. Fishtown was described as “the nerve center for local quirky types,” thanks in part to a resto called Pizza Brain that serves up strangely-named pies and decorates with vinyl records themed around pizza. The cherry on the oddball sundae, though, is the fact that Philadelphians adore sports “without seeming to be athletic themselves.”

There’s nothing wrong with letting one’s freak flag fly, and Philadelphia is in good company on the list. First-place honors went to – surprise, surprise – New Orleans, home of “jubilant funerals, voodoo shops, and seemingly nonstop festivals,” as well as an “offbeat culture… so dominant that it’s become mainstream.” Austin and Portland (Texas and Oregon, respectively) rounded out the top three.

Philadelphia wasn’t the only Pennsylvania inclusion on the list, either. Pittsburgh scored the #13 spot on the list, thanks in large part to the continued influence of pop artist Andy Warhol.