During our recent visit to Philadelphia, we stayed at  Kimpton’s Hotel Monaco.

I wasn’t about to pay the hotel’s ridiculous $50 per night parking fee. Through the site BestParking.com, I was able to find an outdoor lot which cost a reasonable $15 for 24 hours.

The lot is located on S.9th and Chestnut Street, a short walk to the hotel.

As we walked along Chestnut Street, we started to notice the bus stops.

I can’t say that bus stops usually stand out, but these were special, almost like art.

As we walked along Chestnut Street, I decided to take some photos of these unique bus stops. Lucas started to take interest too.Along the way, he would point out some of the bus stops, made from different colored  and patterned glass in metal. He even wanted to pose for some photos!
When I got home, I decided to do a web search to find out more about the Chestnut Street bus stops.

I came across an article from January 2017 about how the “City Withdraws Proposal To Scrap Chestnut Street’s Art Bus Shelters“.
The art bus shelters were designed by artist Pablo Tauler when the city of Philadelphia commissioned him in 1999 “to adapt 11 bus shelters on Chestnut Street in Center City with site-specific designs.”

While the shelters were saved, they were almost taken down so the city could make money from replacing them with advertising.

We’re glad that the plan didn’t come to fruition. Who’d ever think that some fancy bus stops (or shelters) could make a walk so enjoyable!