Greta Greenberger Retires, William Penn Weeps

Greta Greenberger is the Tour Guide Director for Philadelphia’s City Hall Tours for one last day, today.  For 25 years she conducted tours for visitors and school groups of our beautiful gilded City Hall.

I met Greta nearly 20 years ago, when I wandered into the City Hall Tour Office on my lunch hour, cause I was always a tourist in my own city. I loved reading Where Magazine to see what interesting events would be happening for each month, and since it was a tourism magazine, it was the place to pick it up. It was a decade before I would become PhillyChitChat.  Along the way in our friendship, Greta encouraged me to take the architectural tour program, which I did; I became a guide giving tours at City Hall, Old City, Society Hill after work and on weekends (I was still a paralegal).

When not giving tours on lunch hour, Greta and I would go to lunch, eventually I gave up the tours and just went to lunch with Greta. I did volunteer at the City Hall Tour Office on my days off , or sometimes during my lunch as I worked across the street. What an honor it was to work under her direction.

Nearly 100 friends and family gathered to celebrate Greta at the Independence Visitor Center

George Evans, volunteer City Hall tour guide, Christine Keates, General Manager at Independence Visitor Center Corporation – ‎Independence Visitor Center Corporation and James Cuorato, CEO of the Independence Visitor Center

Ivy Silver, Philadelphia region CEO / entrepreneur and Cynthia MacLeod, Superintendent. Independence National Historical Park.

Brulee Catering

Greta Greenberger, City Hall Tour Director, Ann Linn Glaser, JCRC vice president, Cynthia Kishinchand, founded East Falls branch of the Friends of the Free Library & a East Falls Tree Tender for PHS, and Julia Greenberger, Friends Select School

Alan Greenberger chairs newly appointed Art Commission and Margot Berg, Public Art Director at City of Philadelphia
Margot tells me that AMOR currently at the top of the Phila Art Museum Steps will be moving to Sisters’ Cities Park soon, and “Symbiosis”
,the stainless steel tree across from The Phila Art Museum, will remain permanently in the spot located in from of the Philadelphian Condos.

Greta with her “Please Touch Museum Friends”

The Gordon’s Josh and Julia

Teresa Johnson and Maureen Carson

Former Gov Ed Rendell and Jim Cuorato pay tribute to Greta. It was under the Gov administration as Mayor of
Philadelphia that he recruited Greta to become the tour director of City Hall. Originally the tour office was independent, operating under the Phila Foundation
of Architect, then when that organization ceased to exist, the tour office was picked up by Phila Visitor Center.

Joan Reilly – Chief Operating Officer of Mural Arts Program signs the greeting card, which Greta plans to frame in her creative way, because before she was
tour director of City Hall, she was an art teacher.

Michael DiBerardinis is Managing Director of the City of Philadelphia under Mayor Jim Kenney, presents Greta Greenberger with a Citation from Philadelphia for her 25 years of service.

The Philadelphia Inquirer did a wonderful interview with Greta, which can be found here

Thank you Greta, my friend. One of my biggest life supporters.