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The Thinker
Silently perched along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Auguste Rodin’s iconic sculpture greets visitors as they enter the Rodin Museum.
Rodin originally conceived a smaller version of The Thinker to sit atop his monumental bronze portal entitled The Gates of Hell (1880-1917) – which is also on view at the museum. The figure was intended to represent Italian poet Dante Alighieri pondering The Divine Comedy, his epic story of Paradise and Inferno. However, in 1889 Rodin exhibited the sculpture independently of The Gates, giving it the title The Thinker. He embarked on this larger version in 1902.
The Visit Philly Overnight Package — booked more than 190,000 times since 2001 — comes with free hotel parking (worth up to $100 in Center City Philadelphia), overnight hotel accommodations and choose-your-own-adventure perks.