Prohibition 2013?

Last weekend with a great pair of friends, my other half and I spent the day at Philadelphia's National Constitution Center.  The featured exhibit, American Spirits: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition, chronicled the historical significance of alcohol and the years leading up to January 17, 1920, the passing of the constitutional amendment making alcohol illegal in almost all forms.

Get your tickets now!

The halls are filled with artifacts such as church hymnals with tunes about staying dry and an original growler - shaped much differently than our jugs of today.  Walk with the Temperance movement and learn if you are a "wet" or a "dry" based on a census-like survey asking your ethnic identity, religious affiliation, and occupation.  Perfect your Charleston while you sneak around the speakeasy and discover the origins of the term (spoiler alert: based on Irish history, naturally).  Incredibly, many of the rogue practices of the Roaring 20s still affect our drinking habits today.  Think about it: the precursor to the mixed-gender nightclub (the first Girls Night Out?); the birth of the mixed drink, gone were the days of simply ordering liquor on the rocks. Lastly, you see the impact of organized crime, how Al Capone came to shack up at our city's own Eastern State Penitentiary, and the fall of the 18th Amendment.

Sing on high the joys of being a dry.

American Spirits is running until April 28 and was about $17 as an adult.  I highly recommend taking a day into Philly and making a stop here!  Learn more about the exhibit at their site and see more of what the City of Brotherly Love is offer at the Visitor Center's Twitter (@PHLVisitorCntr)!  Slainte!

Nice to know you #18!