Ron Avery

Ron Avery is a lifetime resident of Philadelphia who wrote for Philadelphia area newspapers, including 17 years with the Philadelphia Daily News. Since retirement Avery has become a part time Philadelphia tour guide and has created his own documentary show. In his show, Ron Avery's Urban Explorer, Avery walks around the city of Philadelphia discussing the interesting pieces of history located all over the city. The show concentrates on exploring sites and objects that many viewers are not familiar with, as opposed to discussing well known shrines such as the Liberty Bell. Avery is passionate about his city and its rich history and throughout the show he persuades viewers to go outside and become their own "Urban Explorers" He has written three books about his native city, including "A Concise History of Philadelphia" (1999), "Philadelphia, City of Brotherly Mayhem" (1997) and "Philadelphia Beyond the Liberty Bell" (1991). [Cite web |url=http://www.cybergecko.com/ue01.htm |title=Ron Avery's URBAN EXPLORER |accessdate=2008-03-26]

Tour Guide Bill

In 2007 Avery prodded City Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown to introduce a bill that would require all Philadelphia tour guides to pass a test and be licensed to give tours. Avery was appalled by the amount of misinformation put out by guides in Philadelphia and collected a long list of blunders and mistakes. [Cite web |url=http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0828/p20s01-ussc.html |title=Policing history: Philadelphia may license tour guides ¦ csmonitor.com |accessdate=2008-03-26]

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