KEYSTONE SHORTWAY

The transcontinental Interstate 80 (I-80) is designated across northern Pennsylvania as the Keystone Shortway, a non-tolled freeway that crosses rural north-central portions of the state on the way to New Jersey and New York City. In Pennsylvania, Interstate 80 is also known as the “Z.H. Confair Memorial Highway.” On Sept. 17, 1970, the Pennsylvania section of I-80 was completed. Motorists had the ability to travel uninterrupted through the Commonwealth from Delaware Water Gap in Monroe County to Sharon in Mercer County. For over four decades, many have traveled the “Keystone Shortcut” to reach their destinations and get quickly from point to point, proving that the Pennsylvania section of I-80 continues to be an important artery in the U.S. highway system.

The KEYSTONE SHORTWAY , Interstate 80, between Sharon and Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, 313 miles, 53 interchanges and 486 bridges, gives good access to many of the state parks and recreational areas as well as the shortest route across the state.

DELAWARE WATER GAP

 The Delaware Water Gap, located in Monroe County in Northeastern Pennsylvania, and named after a magnificent natural wonder carved by the Delaware River. It is the best known feature of the park, a distinct notch cut into the Kittatinny Ridge by the Delaware River. Once touted as a scenic Wonder of the World, it is an impressive site when motoring through on Interstate 80 or viewed from the overlooks along PA 611. The Gap is about a quarter mile wide at river level and nearly a mile wide from the top of one mountain to the top of the other.

The Delaware Water Gap, seperating Pennsylvania and New Jersey, is one of the world's scenic wonders

The spectacular Delaware Water Gap has inspired and fascinated people for centuries. From the mid-19th through the early 20th century, Delaware Water Gap was one of the most popular summer resorts in the eastern United States. The recreation area encompasses 67,000 acres of mountain ridge, forest, and floodplain on both sides of the Delaware River in the states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Among the more surprising species of animals in the park are black bear, timber rattlesnakes, bald eagles, and, recently, nesting peregrine falcons. Ecosystems include hemlock ravines with bountiful rhododendron and ridgetops with prickly pear cactus.

PHILADELPHIA

Greetings from Philadelphia, PA: America starts here!

One of the most historic cities in America. The fifth largest city in the U.S., Philadelphia is known as the city of brotherly love, the birthplace of cheese steaks, the home of liberty, and the land of Rocky. It is also known as the "city of firsts" because so many of the country's firsts happened here. Philadelphia has more outdoor artwork and sculptures than any other city in the world. Philadelphia is truly a melting pot of cultures and races - having the second largest Irish, Italian and Jamaican-American populations within the US. William Penn founded Philadelphia in the late 1600's and called it his "religious experiment" because of his desire to see it as a city where people of all religions could live.

Interesting center city architectures, highlighted by Liberty Place - Philadelphia's tallest building, and Saints Peter and Paul in the foreground.

With its majestic facade, vaulted dome, ornate main altar, eight impressive side chapels, and main sanctuary the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul is one of the largest brownstone and architecturally-eminent structures in the City of Philadelphia. It is ranked among the outstandingly beautiful and architecturally perfect structures in Philadelphia and in the United States.

As twilight settles upon this historic city, Philadelphia's City Hall, the largest municipal building in the country, becomes illuminated.

City Hall is the largest municipal building in the United States and exceeds the Capitol in Washington. The granite and marble exterior is embellished with a vast number of sculptures in keeping with the tastes of the French Second Empire style that was popular in the 1870s.  The bronze statue of William Penn at the summit of the tower is 37 feet tall and is the largest statue on any building in the world. Of particular interest are the four spiral stairways whose granite slabs jut out of the walls with no visible means of support.

Philadelphia Museum of Art. Overlooking the Schuylkill and the city, the Museum is one of the finest in the world.

This museum has perhaps the most dramatic location of any in the world being situated on a hill at the end of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway overlooking the Schuylkill. The building was constructed of a golden color stone in the 1920s and recalls the architecture of ancient Greece. Alas, the installation of elaborate multicolor sculpture for the triangular pediments was cut short by the Great Depression.