Axios Philadelphia
July 01, 2026
1 big thing: 🐦 Philly's pigeon tours
Philly's "pigeon people" want to change your mind about one of the world's most maligned birds.
Why it matters: Aspen Simone and Hannah Michelle Brower — often spotted carrying their pet pigeon around town in a transparent backpack — have created a walking tour that challenges the "rats with wings" stereotype and traces the birds' surprising history.
Their motto is simple: "Pigeon haters welcome."
- Saturday through Monday, the couple is leading tours inspired by the nation's 250th anniversary that explore America's complicated relationship with pigeons. They'll meet at Get A Gato cafe at 10am.
- Tickets are $25 for adults and $10 for children 4 and up.
Zoom out: The tours began last year when the couple lost their jobs because of federal budget cuts — Brower as a public health consultant and Simone at a tech agency that worked with the federal government.
- More than 1,100 people have taken their tours, they tell Axios.
Flashback: Throughout history, humans have relied on pigeons.
- To the Romans, pigeon dung was the best fertilizer, Simone says.
- The Lenape — Pennsylvania's Indigenous tribe — relied on them for food and made tools from their bones.
- And the British used homing pigeons during World War II to secretly carry intelligence in Nazi-occupied Europe.
Yes, but: In the 1960s, a "pigeon scare" reshaped how the birds were viewed in America, Simone says.
- It was fueled by Alfred Hitchcock's film "The Birds," a disease outbreak in New York linked to pigeon droppings, and closer to home, city police officers firing blank rounds to drive pigeons away from City Hall.
The intrigue: Simone and Brower even bought into the stereotypes.
- When a woman in their Bella Vista neighborhood begged Brower to take in a malnourished young pigeon, her first thought was that the bird would make a better meal for a city cat.
But its fiery orange eyes, emerald feathers, and quirky habits (she'll nuzzle when she wants to be petted) won the couple over.
- Soon enough, they were studying the birds' genetics and navigation skills — until they decided they wanted to share their knowledge with others.
What they're saying: "We both really value a sense of interconnectedness with our environment, the ecosystem, wildlife, the Earth and other people," Brower says.
The bottom line: Philly Pigeon Tours hopes to turn the city's overlooked neighbors into feathered friends.
3. News Market: Mbappé Part II
5. ✨ Philly's newest museum
The First Bank of the United States reopens today after a $43 million restoration.
Why it matters: Visitors can add the historic landmark to their already-packed 250th anniversary bucket list.
Driving the news: The 1790s-era building at Independence National Historical Park got a complete reboot as part of the yearslong project, including adding an extension.
- Plus: Two new temporary exhibits are on display, featuring rare artifacts and souvenirs from America's centennial and bicentennial, as well as diplomatic gifts the nation has received over centuries.
😮 1 cool thing: The floor-to-ceiling rotunda — featuring nearly 250 scalloped glass panes — inside the building that's been restored to its former beauty. (See above.)
If you go: The bank has a ribbon cutting set for 9:30am today and will remain open until 4pm.
Axios Philadelphia
