West Philly’s Historic Main Street Walking Tour

Join us for a walking tour of West Philadelphia’s 52nd Street, aka “the Strip,” a historic commercial and cultural corridor. The 52nd Street Stroll will uncover the Strip’s hidden past as an entertainment destination for African Americans.

Points of interest along the Strip include:

• Nightclub frequented by celebrities such as Muhammad Ali, Cab Calloway, Joe Frazier, Teddy Pendergrass and Stevie Wonder;
• Restaurant where President Bill Clinton ordered soul food;
• Historic landmark where then-candidate Barack Obama held a campaign rally;
• First-ever Walk of Fame memorializing African American artists of stage, screen and television;
• Jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan’s historical marker;
• Oldest Black-owned bookstore on the East Coast;
• Free Library branch designed by a Black architect who was also a jazz club proprietor;
• Sites featured in the 1972 Blaxploitation film “Trick Baby.”
• The 52nd Street Stroll will be led by All That Philly Jazz Director Faye Anderson. The walking tour will begin at Malcolm X Memorial Park (52nd and Pine Streets) and end at the Nixon Theatre (.06 mile). 

The walk and talk will last two hours. There will be a bonus stop at the jazz club where John Coltrane met McCoy Tyner.