Year In Review: Uwishunu Presents The Best Of Philadelphia 2012 In Photos

Despite the unfortunate end result, the Flyers put on quite a show in a thrilling 2012 NHL Winter Classic on Monday afternoon and Citizens Bank Park was an absolutely awesome setting. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)

The Academy of Music turned 155 this year, and the Philadelphia musical community celebrated with a star-studded gala featuring the Philadelphia Orchestra led by Music Director Designate Yannick Nzet-Sguin for the first time in this hallowed space, plus Grammy winners Diana Krall and Yo-Yo Ma. (Photo by B. Krist for GPTMC)

The much-anticipated Zoe Strauss photography exhibition opened at the Philadelphia Museum of Art on January 17 with an all-night dance party DJed by Philly's own Questlove. (Photo by M. Edlow for GPTMC)

Visitors to the Philadelphia Museum of Art were able to view more than 40 works by Vincent van Gogh never before seen together during Van Gogh Up Close. (Photo courtesy Philadelphia Museum of Art)

Bruce Springsteen purchased this Corvette in 1975, after the success of Born to Run. The car and dozens of other items were on display at the National Constitution Center from February 17-September 3 in From Asbury Park to the Promised Land: The Life and Music of Bruce Springsteen. (Photo by M. Edlow for GPTMC)

Philadelphia's iconic Independence Hall Tower sat silent and dark behind a scrim and scaffolding for 18 months before the rehabilitation project was gloriously completed, unveiled on February 18. (Photo by G. Widman for GPTMC)

The Hawaiian 'Islands of Aloha' theme permeated the 2012 Philadelphia Flower Show at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, with visitors welcomed by a multi-dimensional sensory experience, including Pele's Garden featuring a real 25-foot waterfall. (Photo by R. Kennedy for GPTMC)

Xfinity Live opened in March, bringing several new fun and exciting dining, drinking and entertainment options to the Sports Complex neighborhood in South Philadelphia. (Image courtesy Xfinity Live)

The Academy of Natural Sciences turned 200 this year, celebrating the huge milestone all year long starting with a Bicentennial Weekend March 24-25. (Photo by Will Klein courtesy ANSP)

Hubo, one of seven in a family of humanoid robots residing at Drexel, was modified by Drexel Engineering students to receive new programming code and a custom-build pitching arm, specially for the Philadelphia Science Festival. Hubo threw out the first pitch at the April 28 Phillies game. (Photo by Darryl W. Moran for the Philadelphia Science Festival)

The Barnes Foundation officially opened on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway this May, and hosted round-the-clock programming throughout Memorial Day Weekend to cap off a week's worth of opening celebrations. (Photo by B. Krist for GPTMC)

The Barnes Foundation's new building on the Parkway is striking. (Photo 2012 The Barnes Foundation)

And the collection inside is nothing short of breathtaking. (Photo 2012 The Barnes Foundation)

The Center City District celebrates the grand opening of its gorgeous new public space, Sister Cities Park, on May 10. (Photo by M. Fischetti for GPTMC)

The makings of a perfect warm-weather hangout: fresh waterfront breeze, live music, craft beer, delicious BBQ, lush greenery, picnic tables. Happy sigh. (Photo courtesy Morgan's Pier)

The Franklin Institute's Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit presented one of the most comprehensive collections of ancient artifacts from Israel ever organized, featuring 20 scrolls including the oldest known copies of the Hebrew Bible and four never-before-seen scrolls. (Photos by D. Moran courtesy Franklin Institute)

Longwood Gardens' epic Light Installations By Bruce Munro, a U.S. premiere, illuminated 23 acres of the Gardens with 11 large-scale, site-specific light installations, seven outside in areas not usually seen by the public, three inside the grand four-acre conservatory and a small collection of illuminated sculptures in Longwood's historic Music Room. (Photo by Andrew Weiss Photography)

Wednesday, June 6 was the day everyone in Philadelphia was waiting for: the brand new Shake Shack Philadelphia opened to the public at 20th and Sansom Streets in Rittenhouse Square. (Photo by M. Edlow for GPTMC)

Philadelphia hosted its first all-star game in a decade when Major League Soccer brought its 2012 All-Star Game to PPL Park in July. (Photo courtesy MLS)

July saw the grand re-opening of the Rodin Museum, one of the most distinctive cultural gems along the richly outfitted Benjamin Franklin Parkway and home to the largest public collection of works outside of Paris by the 19th century French sculptor Auguste Rodin. (Photo by G. Widman for GPTMC)

Uwishunu turned Rittenhouse Square into a pop-up movie theater for our first-ever Moonlit Movie Screening in Rittenhouse Square on Saturday, August 11. (Photo by D. Tavani for GPTMC)

The first-ever Made in America Music Festival, hosted by Jay-Z, took over the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in September with continuous musical entertainment for two full days. (Photo courtesy Made in America)

Jay-Z himself (left, above) headlined Day One of the festival with an awesome performance and even brought out special guest Kanye West (right) to help him close out the show. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage)

It was awesome. We hope the festival returns in 2013. (Photo by M. Edlow for GPTMC)

For three weeks, Open Air energized the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and Philadelphia skyline with the nightly illumination of 24 powerful searchlights, sketching beautiful patterns above the city, visible from 10 miles away. (Photo by G. Widman for GPTMC)

October saw the opening of Philadelphia's first new hotel in Old City's Historic District in years, with the ribbon-cutting of Kimpton's chic Hotel Monaco Philadelphia on Independence Mall. (Photo courtesy Hotel Monaco Philadelphia)

In November, Mayor Nutter welcomed an additional 3,000 race participants to the sold-out Philadelphia Marathon who were registered, but unable to compete, in the Hurricane-Sunday-cancelled 2012 New York City Marathon. (Photo courtesy Philadelphia Marathon)

After nine seasons, Anthony Bourdain finally made it to Philadelphia, where he toured the Italian Market, played rock, paper, scissors with Chefs Marc Vetri and Michael Solomonov, marveled at a nine-foot-long colon at the Mutter Museum, and much more. (Photo courtesy The Layover on the Travel Channel)

Philadelphia put on its holiday best this year just as it does every year. (Photo by J. Fusco for GPTMC)