Postcard From Philadelphia

In Philadelphia:

• Residents celebrated Charles Dickens' 200th birthday with costumes and traditional dance at the world's first Dickens statue. In his will, Dickens stipulated that no statue of him should be erected - instead, he wanted molds of his characters. Philly ignored him, and they've been paying tribute to the author on the form of birthday parties since 1974.
• The suburbs are seeing a hotel boom.
• The Philadelphia Passion lost the lingerie football league championship to Los Angeles.
• A judge ruled that he will consider evidence of alleged “prior bad acts” in the upcoming child sex abuse trial of three Catholic clergymen.

Photo by Natalie Tracy. Submit your photos of love and cities at atlanticcities.postcard@gmail.com.