Tree Of Knowledge

From our Philadelphia trip of last week, here’s another of my friend’s-friend Michael Webb’s murals. This one, just a block over from City Hall (subject of an upcoming addition to the Travelogue’s section) depicts the “Tree of Knowledge,” with branches full of symbols.

Here are a few detail shots, one of the top-left with musical, math and information-technology symbols:

And the top-right with some more mystical elements:

Credits go to:

Thursday evening we followed a walking tour of the city’s murals (there’s also a driving tour) that makes for an enjoyable stroll. Some of them are little more than painted advertisements, but there are some gems — like this one — that really capture your attention.

By sheer chance — attracted by an interesting set of mosaics over a doorway — we discovered these gems in a drugstore, of all places:

Sorry, but we didn’t stick around to find out what that particular building was once upon a time. The mosaic, looking straight up, is this:

From left to right you can see the processes of spinning, carding and weaving wool. But that, as far as I can tell, doesn’t help to explain the murals inside.

You can find the “Tree of Knowledge” right here next time you’re in town: