Scene Through the Lens with photographer Tom Gralish.
An original 1833 printing of the Declaration of Independence, by Peter Force currently on display at the National Constitution Center. It was created from the plate engraved ten years earlier by W. J. Stone that was commissioned by Congress for the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, as by the 1820s the original engrossed version of the document was becoming fragile and faded.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
It’s a common sound in Philadelphia’s historic district during the summer. I was photographing tourists in front of Independence Hall on Wednesday when the beat of a single snare drum a block away achieved its intended purpose.
Just like when the fife and drum corps would relay tactical commands over the noise of the battlefield, or regulate a soldier’s daily routine, I stopped what I was going and headed in the direction of the beating pulse.
It was coming from the normally quiet Signer’s Garden pocket park, across 5th Street.
I had intended to go there anyway to photograph the statue — “The Signer” — as I am working with present-day descendants of the signers of the Declaration of Independence on a photo essay that will be posted online this Fourth of July weekend.
The statue was inspired by George Clymer, a Philadelphia merchant, statesman, and signer of both the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. A National Park Service plaque at the entrance reads “it commemorates the courage of those who altered their lives, and ours, by affixing their names to these documents.”
The drum was mustering holiday week visitors for a presentation by two costumed actors from Historic Philadelphia portraying continental soldiers. I watched as the tourists watched them “draft” youngsters into their performance and found myself smiling more than once at how they engaged the kids — and the rest of us in the crowd — with some of their one-liners.
Did I say, smile? I might have had a slightly more sentimental reaction. I have written before that Independence Day has always been my favorite holiday. My dad, who passed away a few years ago, was born on the Fourth of July.
As I looked around at the crowd I could tell everyone else was also getting into the interactive and engaging program. I photographed saluting adults who I assumed were parents, mirroring the actions of their kids doing the marching drills.
Afterward, I learned they weren’t. They had a toddler still in a stroller. They were immigrants from Venezuela, and just happy to be here. Like me.
We’re still in the middle of Philly’s celebration of America’s 250th birthday (with canceled events in a declared heat emergency with 100-plus degree temperatures!). Here are more of my Fourth of July photos and those of my colleagues:
Large crowds walk along the sidewalk in front of Independence Mall during Philadelphia's 250th anniversary celebrations. The city canceled the Wawa Welcome America Salute to Independence Semiquincentennial Parade because of an Extreme Heat Warning, but visitors continued to gather in the historic district.Read moreJose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
Bob Bossart, with the Massachusetts American Revolution reenactment group, talks with friends and relatives by phone while taking shelter from the heat in a shaded area on the lawn at Independence Mall.Read moreJose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
A parade float is moved to storage as the Salute to Independence Semiquincentennial Parade was canceled because of today's heat.Read moreJessica Griffin / Staff Photographer
A parade float is moved to storage as the Salute to Independence Semiquincentennial Parade was canceled because of today's heat.Read moreJessica Griffin / Staff Photographer
A parade float is moved to storage as the Salute to Independence Semiquincentennial Parade was canceled because of today's heat.Read moreJessica Griffin / Staff Photographer
A parade float is moved to storage as the Salute to Independence Semiquincentennial Parade was canceled because of today's heat.Read moreJessica Griffin / Staff Photographer
Scenes from the cancellation of the parade at Independence Hall.Read moreJessica Griffin / Staff Photographer
A parade float moves past Independence Hall and to storage as the Salute to Independence Semiquincentennial Parade was canceled because of today's heat. Read moreJessica Griffin / Staff Photographer
People on Independence Mall record as they watch the Red, White & Blue To-Do Independence Illumination Drone Show over the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.Read moreElizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
People on Independence Mall watch the Red, White & Blue To-Do Independence Illumination Drone Show over the National Constitution Center.Read moreElizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
People wait on Independence Mall for the Red, White & Blue To-Do Independence Illumination Drone Show over the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.Read moreElizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
Deborah Onibuore (left) hands out free water to a tourist on Independence Mall on Thursday evening, July 2, 2026. Onibuore was part of a large group canvassing the area handing out free water on the Mayor’s behalf.Read moreElizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
Jared Pfister of Pyrotecnico places drones for Independence Illumination Drone Show along N. 5th Street in Old City on. 400 drones will be used for the show, viewable from Independence Mall.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer
Drones sit along N. 5th Street in Old City before they take off for the Independence Illumination Drone Show. 400 drones will be used for the show, viewable from Independence Mall.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer
Patrick Wesolosky, National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, uses a fan to keep cool during a historic reenactment at Independence Square.Read moreJessica Griffin / Staff Photographer
Catherine, a member of the Children of the American Revolution, participates in a reenactment at Independence Square.Read moreJessica Griffin / Staff Photographer
(Left to Right) Jack Schulte, Rob Schulte, Richard Lind, and Fred Fonseca, from the Sons of the American Revolution, after participating in a performance at Independence Square directly behind Independence Hall.Read moreJessica Griffin / Staff Photographer
Visitors take photos of historical reenactors at Independence Square.Read moreJessica Griffin / Staff Photographer
(Left to Right) Jack Schulte, and his father Rob Schulte, from the Sons of the American Revolution, after participating in a performance at Independence Square.Read moreJessica Griffin / Staff Photographer
Jarquiza Ayers, on the staff of U.S. Rep.Watson Coleman, uses a handheld fan to cool off U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans, seated in Congress Hall at Independence Hall.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Students from Dance4Life School of the Arts in Delaware perform during the Red, White, & Blue To-Do Pomp & Parade.Read moreAidan T. Gallo / Staff Photographer
Members of the Banda Esolar de Guayanilla, a community band based in Puerto Rico, share water and hydrate before the parade begins.Read moreAidan T. Gallo / Staff Photographer
A member of Gente de Venezuela Philly marches through Independence Mall during the Red, White, & Blue To-Do Pomp & Parade.Read moreAidan Gallo / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia Phillies fans shield themselves from the heat with towels during a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates amid a heat wave at Citizens Bank Park.Read moreJose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
Mayor Cherelle L. Parker leads a group of bipartisan mayors from communities around the country.Read moreJessica Griffin / Staff Photographer
Mayor Cherelle L. Parker leads more than 100 bipartisan mayors from communities across the nation in a Historic March of America's Mayors through the birthplace of American democracy and past Independence Hall.Read moreJessica Griffin / Staff Photographer
Participants gather to create the Living Liberty Bell, gathering 250 people to form the shape of the famous bell on Independence Mall.Read moreJessica Griffin / Staff Photographer
(Left to Right) McKenzie Kerry, Kate Dimmett, and Reagan Earlywine, stand with other participants who gathered to create the Living Liberty Bell, gathering 250 people to form the shape of the famous bell on Independence Mall.Read moreJessica Griffin / Staff Photographer
Participants gather to create the Living Liberty Bell, gathering 250 people to form the shape of the famous bell.Read moreJessica Griffin / Staff Photographer
Tess Ferm, Miss America’s Teen from South Carolina, stands with other participants who gathered to create the Living Liberty Bell.Read moreJessica Griffin / Staff Photographer
Historic Philadelphia actor Lane Norris (right), portraying a Continental soldier Conrad Fry leads a contingent of tourist children after “mustering” them in Independence National Historical Park Wednesday as Philadelphia prepares for the celebration of America’s 250th birthday.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Tourists and visitors salute as Historic Philadelphia actors (not shown) “muster” a group of children they incorporated into their scenario in Independence National Historical Park on Wednesday.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Attendees relax and enjoy their free hoagies at Independence Mall during the Wawa Hoagie Day on Wednesday.Read moreAidan T. Gallo / Staff Photographer
Since 1998 a black-and-white photo has appeared every Monday in staff photographer Tom Gralish’s “Scene Through the Lens” photo column in the print editions of The Inquirer’s local news section. Here are the most recent, in color:
June 29, 2026: Shecky Perlman as Ben Franklin is inside the Free Quaker Meeting House on Independence Mall as he and other historical reenactors receive their diplomas after weeks of intensive, immersive training for the 21st season of Historic Philadelphia’s Once Upon a Nation program — where costumed actors perform first-person interpretations of real 18th-century Philadelphians in the Historic District and at Valley Forge National Historical Park.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
June 22, 2026: A downed utility pole serves as a quiet place to eat, away from the crowd at the Odunde Festival, billed as the largest African street market in North America.” Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
June 15, 2026: Bob Myers, president of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, owner/operator of the 76ers and the NHL’s New Jersey Devils, as well as a future Philadelphia WNBA team, talks to reporters after Mike Gansey made his first appearance as Sixers president of basketball operations at the Penn Medicine Philadelphia 76ers Training Complex in Camden. Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
June 8, 2026: Obet Montalvo, a digital strategist with Radicle Digital, finds a quiet nook at the Convention Center on Thursday June 4, 2026, while attending Netroots Nation, the country’s largest annual gathering for progressive political activists, and organizers. The fan fest is an outgrowth of the blog Daily Kos, and brings together thousands of grassroots organizers to participate in training sessions, panel discussions, and keynote addresses.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
June 1, 2026: The signature half-rose stained glass window of the 1891 Grace Baptist Church is reflected in a glass wall inside the Temple Performing Arts Center, as a spring concert by Temple University Music Prep’s Center for Gifted Young Musicians gets underway below. A school started at the church so working men unable to afford traditional college could attend at night eventually became Temple University, and the congregation relocated to the suburbs. Over the years the building deteriorated and in 1986 university trustees voted to demolish it. Public outcry and help from the Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia convinced Temple’s leaders to preserve the building, and a few years and $30 million later the old church was reborn in 2010 as a 1200-seat, multipurpose state-of-the-art event center. Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
May 25, 2026: A color guard marches in Laurel Hill Cemetery during the annual observance of traditional Decoration Day on Memorial Day weekend. The historic cemetery was the site of Philadelphia’s first observance in 1868, paying tribute to those who lost their lives in the Civil War. What is now known as Memorial Day became a national holiday in 1971. The re-creation is an annual tradition of the Gen. George B. Meade Post No. 1 Grand Army of the Republic and included a wreath-laying ceremony, pageantry, music and speeches. Flowers and flags were placed earlier on the graves of hundreds of known and unknown American veterans from the French and Indian War through the Iraq War.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
May 25, 2026 (online version): A NASCAR Roadtripping fourth T-shirt ($14.98) - at the closest outpost to Philly - 4-1/2 hours away - of the Texas-based gas station convenience store chain known for its Beaver Nuggets and pristine potties, in Rockingham County, Is Buc-ee’s a true travel destination - or a tourist trap?Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
May 19, 2026: Robert Arana and Kevin Baraniecki (right) work on replacing the outer protective film on top of the structural safety glass pavilions that serve as the head house entrance to SEPTA’s 15th St/City Hall Station in Dilworth Park.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
May 11, 2026: At the border of PA and NJ, halfway on the New Hope - Lambertville bridge. It’s a level and well-maintained walkway separated from the cars, making for a safe, short easy walk between the shops and restaurants in both downtowns. With great views of the Delaware River. Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
May 4, 2026: The hooves were all that remained of a life-size elk statue — sawed off at the ankles — in historic Harleigh Cemetery in Camden on Tuesday. The bronze elk statues were put up in cemeteries all over the country at the turn of the 20th century in what was called an “Elks Rest,” an area reserved for deceased members of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. In many lodges of the fraternal group founded in 1866, members who could not afford a burial were provided space in the “Rest” free of charge. The statue was since recovered and is back in the cemetery’s possession. Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
April 27, 2026: What just a week ago was a spring-time canopy of rosy blush blossoms is now a soft carpet of pink petals, on a sidewalk along Wayne Avenue in Germantown.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
April 20, 2026: The water is turned back on in LOVE Park this week, marking another milestone as seasons change in the city. The splash fountain and basin-less main fountain in the park formally known as John F. Kennedy Plaza, was part of the site’s 2018 renovations, that came after the old park was flattened out, removing a traditional fountain and benches and levels that made it so enticing to skateboarders.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
April 13, 2026: Workers set up the stage — with a cooling tower backdrop — for a Gov. Mikie Sherrill event at the PSEG Salem and Hope Creek Nuclear Generating Station in Lower Alloways Creek, N.J. Sherrill later signed legislation intended to make way for new nuclear energy projects in the Garden State by removing a key permitting hurdle that has created a de facto moratorium on new nuclear power for decades. Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
April 6, 2026: Work continues into the night, two floors above street level in Old City.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
March 30, 2026: New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill (third from right) meets with members of the South Jersey business community while her youngest daughter, Marit, waits in lobby (rear). Mom was attending a fireside chat event hosted by the Chamber of Commerce of Southern New Jersey in Mount Laurel earlier this month.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
