The "One Of The Coolest Cities In The U.S." Story

It was an ordinary day.  Searching the shelves at Barnes & Noble Booksellers for a travel magazine as well as another sports magazine that may have stories on the Philadelphia Eagles as well as the Phillies.  Happened to pick up the latest Forbes Magazine and while leafing through it found something rather interesting.  One of the articles in the magazine talked about "The 10 Coolest U.S. Cities to Visit in 2018."  What caught my eye was the fact that Savannah, Georgia was on the list and Carol and I had just made arrangements to visit our longtime friends who had moved a few years ago to Bluffton, South Carolina which is about a half-hour drive from Savannah.  We were hoping to get a chance to visit Savannah during our visit and I naturally had to read about the town in the magazine.  Then I started to check out some of the other cities.  Louisville, Detroit, Portland and even Philadelphia were on the list with small stories about each city.  Then I read about Richmond, Columbus, and nearby Baltimore.  But what really caught my eye was when I turned the page and saw that Lancaster, Pennsylvania was listed as one of the top 10 Coolest U.S. cities.  

Cobblestone walks next to Lancaster's Central Market
can be seen in one of my altered Polaroid prints.  Cool!

My hometown is one of the Coolest Towns in the country!  Wow!  Guess that makes me cool to be living in a cool town.  Nah, but I can only hope.  Small story tells about our Victorian city, just three hours from New York, and still is one of our country's best kept secrets.  And, that's just the way many in our town like it.  Naturally, the Amish are always a big draw and at times I think they like the attention.  Seems that another reason our town is becoming so hip is the town's architecture as well as the food scene.  Walk the cobblestone Market Alley to visit the oldest continuously operating market house in the nation.

Street art such as this can be found throughout the city.  Cool!

 Indulge in the cultural food choices and drinks that are found around the city in places with names like "The Fridge", "Thistle Finch Distillery" and "Luca" which is one of Chef's Alton Brown's favorites.  Seems he is a constant visitor to Lancaster, since in 2006 he named another of our downtown restaurants, Ma(i)son, as one of his top two restaurants.  

The Fulton Opera House designed by C. Emlen Urban.  Cool!

But, what caught my eye in the article was the fact that they noticed the architecture that makes our city so special to those who live here.  There are many stores and homes around the city that were designed by renowned architect C. Emlen Urban during the late 1800s into the early 1900s.  The first department store in the United States, Hager's, in the city was designed by Urban as well as Watt & Shand Department Store.  Both still stand in the city.  

Gallery Row features many art galleries to explore.  Cool!

One of my favorites, The Fulton Opera House, was another of his master- pieces.  And, the final reason that the magazine thought our town was cool is the art scene that is Lancaster.  Everything from painted pianos, which stand at a variety of places in the city for all to play, to street art which covers many walls throughout the city to Lancaster's famous Gallery Row where there are galleries galore.  All lend to the coolness that is Lancaster.  So, if you want to see a cool place, head to Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  It's been my home for close to three-quarters of a century now, and I still enjoy making visits to town to walk the streets, eat a long john or two and take a few photos of some of the neatest architecture you'll ever see.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.