OUR FEET Sealed beneath the surface of Philadelphia's modern cityscape are remnants of the city's past. The signs of change are everywhere.
Cities constantly remake the landscape to serve the changing needs of their residents.
Amidst this change little bits of the city's past are sometimes preserved in surprising places. New construction, which clears away much of the older landscape, sometimes seals beneath a modern building a portion of an older street or alleyway, a colonial backyard or the foundations of an earlier residence. Indeed, even in the modern city the ground under your feet may contain the preserved evidence of the areas earliest residents. Native Americans may have left a record of their activities under sidewalks and buildings. The National Park Service is working in partnership with the National Constitution Center, the Gateway Visitor Center Corporation, Eastern National and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to redevelop the three blocks of what we currently call Independence Mall.