This article is part of 34th Street's Philadelphia, Curated issue. Click here to see more of our favorite spots from all over the city.
Wanna get a little weird? Don't be shy, we know sometimes all you need is a little excitement in your life. Whether you're looking for a unique gift or hoping to learn more about the mysteries of the human body, there's a place in Philadelphia to satisfy your curiosity.
Halloween
No inch of space is left bare in Henri David’s jewelry store, Halloween. The elaborately decorated row house on Pine Street is home to hundreds of unique jewelry pieces, brooches, gems, match boxes, and other little treasures. Styles and prices vary: come here for a nice engagement ring, a casual pinky ring, or anything in between. Even if you’re not looking to purchase anything, Halloween is like a mini–museum, perfect for just browsing, filled with some interesting curiosities. Forty percent of the jewelry is made in house, and the rest are antiques or from little companies around the world.
Price Range: $31–$60
Address: 1329 Pine St.
Hours: Tues–Fri: 12 p.m.–6 p.m.
Sat: 11 a.m.–4 p.m.
Sun–Mon: Closed
Pizza Brain
Pizza should be a cultural experience. Luckily, Pizza Brain houses both an excellent pizzeria and the world’s first pizza museum. So after you’ve enjoyed a specialty slice, you can gawk at the vast array of pizza paraphernalia. In fact, Pizza Brain holds the Guinness World Record for largest collection of pizza–related items. The collection ranges from toys, puzzles, comic books and games, to novelty pizza cutters and old advertisements. Make sure to check out the extensive record collection of songs celebrating pizza.
Price Range: Free museum entry | $13–$23 per pie
Address: 2313 Frankford Ave.
Hours: Mon–Thurs: 11 a.m–9 p.m.
Fri–Sat: 11 a.m.–10 p.m.
Sun: 12 p.m.–9 p.m.
The Strange and Unusual
Photo provided by The Strange and Unusual
Looking for some decorations to creep out your roommate? Look no further than The Strange and Unusual. While the store houses an extensive jewelry, book, and antique collection, it’s the taxidermy that really stands out, taking stuffed animals to a whole new level. The preserved animal fetuses on display ensure that the Strange and Unusual is not for the faint of heart—here, every season can feel like Halloween season.
Price Range $20–$80
Address: 523 S 4th St.
Hours: Mon: Closed
Tues–Thurs: 12 p.m.–6 p.m.
Fri–Sun: 12 p.m.–8 p.m.
Insectarium
Trying to escape the cockroaches in your quad dorm and see critters of higher aesthetic value? Try swinging by the Philadelphia Insectarium and Butterfly Pavilion, where you can see one of the most diverse living arthropod collections in the United States. The insectarium houses two floors of new museum exhibits in addition to a 7,000 square foot tropical butterfly pavilion, which means you can easily get lost in the natural beauty of these insects. Additionally, as Philadelphia’s newest science museum, you’ll be ahead of the curve—you saw the anthropods before it was cool.
Price Range: GA: $11.95 | Military, Senior, Teacher, or Student ID: $9.95
Address: 8046 Frankford Ave.
Hours: Mon–Sat: 9 a.m.–5 p.m.
Sun: 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
Museum of Shoes at the Temple School of Podiatric Medicine
Temple University School of Podiatric Medicine is not just a center for medical research and treatment, it also houses a little known Shoe Museum. Founded in 1976 as an additional attraction to the nearby Liberty Bell and Independence Park, the museum contains roughly 900 pairs of shoes with 250 pairs displayed on the 6th floor of the school. The collection ranges from 19th– and 20th–century kicks to Malaysian clogs, Eskimo boots, Egyptian burial sandals, and a pair of 200–year–old French “sabots.” You can even find celebrity shoes among the ranks of treasures tucked within the museum—Joan Rivers’ Manolo Blahniks and Reggie Jackson’s World Series shoes have both found a home at the Shoe Museum. Anyone who appreciates the diverse history and fashion of shoe design should make an appointment to check out this gem.
Price Range: Free
Address: 148 N 8th St.
Hours: Contact curator Barbara Williams at 215–625–5243 or BWilliams@tuspm.temple.edu to schedule a visit.
Anastacia’s Antiques
One of the quirkier destinations in Philadelphia is Anastacia’s Antiques. What started as a shared renovation project between Anastasia Fahnestock and Scott Evans has transformed into a 2,400 square foot showroom filled with a constantly shifting assortment of Victorian era goodies, from the eccentric to the humdrum. Online reviews hail this place an “Eyecandy in Wonderland” type of shop, and with Anastacia’s, the only way to get to wonderland is to fall down the rabbit hole— there’s no online shopping option. It’s worth the trip though, who knows what you’ll find?
Price Range: $11–$30
Address: 617 Bainbridge St.
Hours: Thurs–Sat: 12 p.m.–6:30 p.m.
Sun: 12 p.m.–5 p.m.
Mon–Wed: Closed
Mütter Museum
Amy Gizienski Flickr CC 2.0
The Mütter Museum is the perfect haven for everyone who’s always been a little bit macabre. While it’s technically a medical history museum, its specimens tend towards the weird (and often gruesome). Available artifacts range from the tallest human skeleton on view in North America (7 feet, 6 inches) to slides of Albert Einstein’s brain. You might feel like you walked inside an episode of “American Horror Story,” but you’re guaranteed to learn something new. Fair warning though: if organs and fetuses in jars (or, in museum parlance, “wet specimens”) make you queasy, this might not be your spot. Also, think twice about bringing kids.
Price Range: $13–$18
Address: 19 S 22nd St.
Hours: Sun–Sat: 10 a.m–5 p.m.
