854 5530 TIDAL 29

NGS PID: JU0727
Coordinates: N 39.95305° W 75.16305°
Location: Pennsylvania
   Philadelphia County
      Philadelphia Quad
Elevation: 45.56 ft.
Type: Tidal Bench Mark Disk
Setting: Granite Foundation
Monumented: 1922
Monumented By: NGS
Status: Recovered
Condition: Good as of June 12, 2009
Google Map

Previous attempt (January 18, 2003): see 854 5530 TIDAL 29.

Rich and I arrived this afternoon in Philadelphia for my graduation ceremony tomorrow. Before supper, we decided to take a short stroll from the Windsor Suites over to City Hall in order to find and log this mark. I had attempted it in 2003, when City Hall was undergoing repairs. The entire area was fenced off at that time, and I had been unable to get anywhere near the station.

On this lovely evening, we had no trouble at all. We stepped out of our hotel and immediately realized that we were looking at the statue of William Penn from “that interesting angle.” We wandered through Love Park—enjoying the spray from the fountain and wondering about all the loose paving stones beneath our feet—and eventually over to the square. We spotted the benchmark easily, just inside the north archway and directly beneath a section of wire fence. It appears to be in good condition, undisturbed by the construction. We were unable to obtain good coordinate readings because the mark is basically under cover.