Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site

In Philadelphia, Edgar Allen Poe wrote such classics as "The Tell-Tale Heart," "The Fall of the House of Usher" and poems like "The Haunted Palace" and "To Helen."

Exploring themes as diverse as spirituality, astronomy, science, and depravity, Edgar Allan Poe's writing is as powerful and arresting today as when he was first published. Poe's 6 years in Philadelphia, 1838-1844, were his most productive. Not only did Poe edit and provide critical reviews for very successful magazines, but he also invented the modern detective story.

While living in Philadelphia, Poe went from the high of being a popular lecturer to the despair of learning that his wife Virginia was ill with tuberculosis. The brief and tragic life of the author, his times, and literary legacy are interpreted in the building that once sheltered Poe and his family.