All Around the Town
Erie, Pennsylvania has been luring visitors to the shores of Lake Erie for more than two hundred years. This tour provides a journey through the city's unique heritage, and includes three destinations: Perry Square, Bicentennial Tower, Brig Niagara and the Erie Maritime Museum and Watson- Curtze Mansion. Perry Square lies in the heart of downtown and is one of three town squares found on the original 1795 map of Erie. Today, it is the site of many monuments and memorials, the 1929 Thomas A. Edison Memorial Fountain, and a series of bizarre tales. The Bicentennial Tower, built in 1995 in celebration of the city's 200th birthday, is a 187 foot observation tower featuring one of the best aerial views of Erie. Located next to the tower along the bayfront, is the Brig Niagara and Erie Maritime Museum. The museum presents the story of Niagara as the reconstructed flagship of Pennsylvania and the warship that won the Battle of Lake Erie in the War of 1812. Offering a wide range of multi-media and interactive exhibits and coupled with lively interpretive programs, Erie Maritime Museum vividly illustrates Niagara's history and the region's rich maritime tradition. Our final destination is the Erie County Historical Society's Watson-Curtze Mansion, a 24-room Victorian home situated along the city's Millionaire's Row. The mansion was built by nineteenth century entrepreneur Harrison Watson and features Victorian furnishings and fashions.
