The "If William Penn Had Only Known..." Story

 It was an ordinary day.  Looking through my "Weird Pennsylvania" book that my wife gave me as a Christmas gift in 2019.  Neat book with all sorts of stories all dealing with the state of Pennsylvania.  One story talks about "The Magic Garden of South Street" in Philadelphia which features house-sized urban murals, thanks to a long-standing civic movement called the Mural Arts Project.  Another story talks about the Red Caboose Motel and Restaurant in the little town of Paradise.  Then there is the story about Hugh Lesley who collects Edsels.  He has a collection of more than 150 Ford Edsels at his place near the border of Chester and Lancaster counties.  A story titled "Mud from Above in Paradise" tells about a mysterious deposit of mud that fell from the skies in Paradise Township which is located in York, Pennsylvania. Woman by the name of Rose Snell was returning home one dark day in January when she found something the color of mud smashed on the side of her house.  And finally, there was the story that I just read which was titled "The Strange Statue of William Penn."  The story was accompanied by a photograph of William Penn's statue that sits on top of City Hall in Philadelphia.  Now, this isn't just any statue on top of any building, but a thirty-seven-foot-high bronze statue that really stands out when you see it.  And, when you are driving down from Fairmount Park and the Art Gallery you can see William Penn holding a copy of the treaty that he had signed with the Lenni Lenape tribe.  It faces the place were the treaty was signed.  

Only problem is that Mr. Penn is holding the treaty at waist level, and to anyone driving or strolling down Franklin Parkway, it looks for all the world as though he is preparing to urinate off the top of the building.  Actually it's pretty funny!  Now, it says in my book that it might just be purely coincidental, but then again, Philadelphia has a history of high-profile puckish humor that dates back to Benjamin Franklin.  So, when you see William Penn high above the city, and have a...is that what I think it is? moment, you may question yourself and wonder if it was done that way on purpose.  As I read a bit more I found out that the artist who did the sculpture, Alexander Milne Calder, didn't intend it to be on top of a building.   It was to be a sculpture displayed at ground level for all to see.  Well, the authors of the book that my wife gave me took a walk by the statue on top of the building and decided that if it was what it appeared to be, the intended target would probably have been the historic Masonic Temple or the Methodist Episcopal building.  Evidently there is a punch line there somewhere.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.