Our story:
The most picturesque route through Colonial Philadelphia, curated by a local.
I started Join, or Die! Tours as a passion project for my neighborhood. I kept wondering why so many Philadelphia tours followed the same 5–7 illogically ordered stops that told a Revolutionary story that pulled more tales from Boston than from right here in the nation’s first capital, Philadelphia.
I wanted to create a Philly Special version of our path to independence, where the stories match the places visitors are actually standing. I also questioned why every tour begins and ends in Old City ignoring, in my opinion, the most beautiful stretch of Colonial Philadelphia fifteen minutes to the south in Society Hill.
After about a 1,001 dog walks through my neighborhood, I mapped what I believe is the best route to experience the historic heart of the city I love. It begins at A Man Full of Trouble Tavern, our oldest remaining tavern, and winds through cobblestone streets in Society Hill, before concluding where the declaration was first read at Independence Square. I hope you’ll join me to see it for yourself. After all, the best way to know a place is through the eyes of someone who lives there.
Along the way, I’ll draw on my studies at the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University to bring depth and context to America’s beginnings. You’ll hear the Revolution through the voices of artisans, printers, merchants, clergy, doctors, lawyers, and builders… everyday Philadelphians who lived and worked right here — who “We the People” is referencing in the Preamble.
And since you’re in Philly, I’ll make sure you leave with more than history, like where the actual best cheesesteaks are and the coziest BYOBs.
Hope to youse on the tour soon.
— Brandon