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PHILADELPHIA,
PENNSYLVANIA - USA
Philadelphia is the largest city in Pennsylvania, occupying all of
Philadelphia County. 6. As of the 2000 census, the population was 1,517,550,
but a July 1, 2002 Census estimate showed the population dropping to
1,492,231, making it the fifth largest city in the United States, though it
is believed that Phoenix has since passed or will soon pass Philadelphia.
Philadelphia is one of the oldest cities in the United States (dating from
1681) and has played a central role in American history and the development
of the United States.
During part of the 18th century the city was the second capital and then-largest
city of the United States. At that time it eclipsed Boston and New York in
political and social importance, with Boston-born Benjamin Franklin playing
an extraordinary role in its rise.
The city is the central city for the Delaware Valley metropolitan area.
Philadelphia was a planned city founded and developed by William Penn, a
Quaker. Philadelphia was the capital of Penn's colony. During early
immigration by Quakers and others when immigrants purchased land in the city,
they also received farm land outside of the city. This was intended to allow
the city's population to leave the city easily. Penn also required lots of
alley ways and open spaces in to hopes of controlling fires and disease (which
were then common problems in London).
It was the major center for the independence movement during the American
Revolutionary War.
The name of the city means "brotherly love" in ancient Greek.
For a time in the 18th century, Philadelphia was the largest city in the
Americas north of Mexico City, and second only to London in size in the
British Empire.
In 1790, the seat of the United States Government was moved from Federal
Hall in New York to Congress Hall in Philadelphia as the result of a
compromise between a number of Southern congressmen and United States
Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton. In exchange for locating a
permanent capital on the banks of the Potomac River, the congressmen agreed
to support Hamilton's financial proposals. Philadelphia served as the
temporary capital until 1800 when the Capitol building in the new Federal
city of Washington, DC was opened.
An early railroad center, Philadelphia was the original home of the Baldwin
Locomotive Works, the world's largest builder of steam locomotives (which
relocated to nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania). The Pennsylvania Railroad,
once America's largest railroad by revenue and traffic volume and at one
time the largest public corporation in the world, was headquartered on Broad
Street, as was its merger successor, the Penn Central Railroad.
The city limits have been coterminous with the county since 1854. Prior to
that, the city of Philadelphia consisted only of those areas between South
Street, Vine Street, the Delaware River, and the Schuylkill River.
In 1876 Philadelphia hosted the World's Fair known as the Centennial
Exposition. Memorial Hall and the expansive mall in front of it are remnants
of this fair.
In 1926, the city held the Sesquicentennial Exposition.
Street layout of central Philadelphia
Penn's surveyor, Thomas Holme, laid out the city in a strict grid, with all
streets running either north-south or east-west. The north-south streets are
numbered sequentially from Front (instead of First), along the Delaware
River, to 13th, followed by the main north-south thoroughfare, Broad Street
(instead of 14th).
The numbered streets then resume, continuing in the original plan to 28th at
the Schuylkill River. The east-west streets, many of them named for trees,
e.g., Chestnut, Walnut, Locust, and Spruce, parallel the main thoroughfare
named High Street by Penn, but called Market Street since at least the early
18th century. He also planned five public parks, one at the intersection of
High and Broad Streets in the very center of the city (now occupied by the
City Hall) and four others (now called Washington Square, Rittenhouse Square,
Logan Square and Franklin Square) surrounding it. The eastern edge of
Rittenhouse Square is on 18th St., four blocks west of City Hall, while the
western edge of Washington Square is between 7th and 8th, about six and a
half blocks east of City Hall. Both are the same distance south of City
Hall. City Hall is the tallest masonry building in the world; and through
the late 1980s, City Hall used to be locally known as the tallest building
in Philadelphia. However in 1987, One Liberty Place broke the gentlemen's
agreement not to exceed the height of the statue of William Penn on the top
of the City Hall. Since then, seven other skyscrapers have been completed
exceeding the statue including One Liberty Place's little sister, Two
Liberty Place. One Liberty Place is the tallest building in Pennsylvania
with Two Liberty Place trailing behind it. Since the completion of One
Liberty Place, no Philadelphia sporting team has won a "world" championship
event in its respective discipline, most notably the Super Bowl, a
phenomenon locally known as the "curse of Billy Penn."
Rittenhouse Square is named after David Rittenhouse, a son of the first
paper-maker in Philadelphia, William Rittenhouse. Rittenhousetown is a
delightful rural setting in Fairmount Park. David Rittenhouse was a
clockmaker and friend of the American Revolution.
Downtown is known informally as "Center City."
Government
From a governmental perspective, Philadelphia County is a legal nullity, as
all county functions were assumed by the city in 1952, which has been
coterminous with the county since 1854.
Executive
The city is headed by an elected mayor who is limited to two, four-year
terms. The incumbent is former Philadelphia City Council President John
Street (D), who was first elected in 1999. He was re-elected by a larger
majority in 2003.
Legislative
The legislative branch of Philadelphia is the Philadelphia City Council.
Philadelphia has seven council members at large, and ten council members
from districts. The current council president is Ann C. Verna.
Judicial
The Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas, also known as the Court of
Common Pleas for the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania, is the trial
court of general jurisdiction for Philadelphia. It is funded and operated
largely by City resources and employees.
The Philadelphia Municipal Court handles matters of limited jurisdiction as
well as landlord-tenant disputes, appeals from traffic court, conducts
preliminary examinations for felony-level offenses, and the like.
Traffic Court is a court of special jurisdiction which hears violations of
traffic laws.
Pennsylvania's three appellate courts have chambers in Philadelphia. The
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, which is the court of last resort in the
state, regularly hears arguments in Philadelphia City Hall. Also, the
Superior Court of Pennsylvania and the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania
sit in Philadelphia several times a year.
Judges for all of the above courts are elected at large.
Business
Philadelphia's economy is heavily based upon manufacturing, refining, and
financial services. Philadelphia has its own stock exchange.
The list of major companies in Philadelphia includes Aramark,
GlaxoSmithKline, Sunoco, Comcast, and Pep Boys.
The Federal government plays a large role in Philadelphia as well. The east-coast
operations of the United States Mint are based near the historic district,
and the Federal Reserve Bank's Philadelphia division is based there as well.
Geography
Philadelphia is located at 39°59'53" North, 75°8'41" West (39.998012,
-75.144793).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of
369.4 km² (142.6 mi²). 349.9 km² (135.1 mi²) of it is land and 19.6 km² (7.6
mi²) of it is water. The total area is 5.29% water. Bodies of water include
the Schuylkill River, Cobbs Creek, Wissahickon Creek, and Pennypack Creek.
Philadelphia is unofficially divided into numerous neighborhoods. These
include Andorra, Roxborough, Northern Liberties, Manayunk, Center City,
Queen Village, Kensington, University City, Strawberry Mansion, Chestnut
Hill, Fishtown, Germantown, Mount Airy, Chinatown, Fox Chase, South Philly,
Society Hill, the Museum District and many others.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there are 1,517,550 people, 590,071 households,
and 352,272 families residing in the city. The population density is
4,337.3/km² (11,233.6/mi²). There are 661,958 housing units at an average
density of 1,891.9/km² (4,900.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is
45.02% White, 43.22% African American, 0.27% Native American, 4.46% Asian,
0.05% Pacific Islander, 4.77% from other races, and 2.21% from two or more
races. 8.50% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
Of the 590,071 households, 27.6% have children under the age of 18 living
with them, 32.1% are married couples living together, 22.3% have a female
householder with no husband present, and 40.3% are non-families. 33.8% of
all households are made up of individuals and 11.9% have someone living
alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.48
and the average family size is 3.22.
In the city the population is spread out with 25.3% under the age of 18,
11.1% from 18 to 24, 29.3% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who
are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 34 years. For every 100
females there are 86.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there
are 81.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $30,746, and the median
income for a family is $37,036. Males have a median income of $34,199 versus
$28,477 for females. The per capita income for the city is $16,509. 22.9% of
the population and 18.4% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the
total people living in poverty, 31.3% are under the age of 18 and 16.9% are
65 or older.
Transportation
Public transportation
Philadelphia is served by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation
Authority, or SEPTA. SEPTA runs buses, trains, subways, trolleys, and
trackless trolleys around Philadelphia and into the suburbs.
Philadelphia lies directly on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor. Amtrak's 30th
Street Station is a major railroad facility which offers access to Amtrak,
SEPTA, and NJ Transit rail lines.
PATCO provides light rail service to Camden, Collingswood, Haddonfield,
Cherry Hill, Ashland, and Lindenwold, New Jersey, from stations on Locust
Street between 16th and 15th, 13th and 12th, and 10th and 9th Streets, and
on Market Street at 8th Street.
Two airports, Philadelphia International Airport and Northeast Philadelphia
Airport, reside within the city limits. Philadelphia International Airport
provides domestic and international scheduled air service, while Northeast
Philadelphia Airport serves general and corporate aviation.
Roads
Interstate 95 runs directly through the city along the Delaware River,
providing transportation from Florida to Maine.
The city is also served by Interstate 76 (also known as the Schuylkill
Expressway) which runs along the Schuylkill River. It meets with the
Pennsylvania Turnpike at King of Prussia and provides access to Harrisburg
and points west.
Interstate 676, or the Vine Street Expressway, was completed in 1991 after
years of planning as a link between I-95 and I-76. It runs beneath city
level through Center City.
The Delaware River Port Authority operates three bridges in Philadelphia
over the Delaware River to New Jersey: the Walt Whitman Bridge, the Benjamin
Franklin Bridge, and the Betsy Ross Bridge.
List of Philadelphia Neighborhoods
West Philadelphia
University City/Spruce Hill - So titled due to the heavy presence of
institutions of higher learning; Drexel University, University of the
Sciences in Philadelphia, and the Ivy League University of Pennsylvania.
Overlaps with the Spruce Hill community which can be found further west
beginning at 40th Street. Breadth: East to the Schuylkill River and
Interstate 76 (Schuylkill Expressway), North to Market St., South to the
Schuylkill River and Gray's Ferry Ave., West to 46th Street.
Cedar Park - originally outlying farmland, with the construction of trolly
lines linking West Philadelphia to Center City in the late 1800s Cedar Park
soon developed into a suburb of Philadelphia marked by Queen Anne style
architecture. The neighborhood is currently undergoing gentrification
stimulated by the University of Pennsylvania's redevelopment plan for West
Philadelphia. There is a distinct progressive politics mien to the
neighborhood and a sizable African immigrant community located around the
49th to 46th blocks of Baltimore Avenue. Breadth: North to Larchwood Ave.,
South to Kingsessing Ave., East to 46th St., West to 52nd Street.
Powelton Village
Walnut Hill - Breadth: North to Market Street, South to Larchwood Ave., West
to 52nd St., East to 46th Street.
Cobbs Creek - a predominantly Black American neighborhood. Breadth: North to
Market Street, South to Baltimore Ave., East to 52nd Street., West to Cobbs
Creek Park.
Overbrook
Carroll Park
Haddington
South Philadelphia
Gray's Ferry - Breadth: North to Gray's Ferry Ave., South to Passyunk Ave.,
West to the Schuykill River, East to 24th St..
Schuylkill - Breadth: North to South Street, East to Broad St., West to the
Schuylkill River, South to Washington Avenue.
Point Breeze
Packer Park
Queen Village
Whitman
Penn's Port - known commonly as "2nd Street". Penn's Port is predominated by
Irish-American Catholics.
Bella Vista
Passyunk
Center City
Market East/Old City
Market West
Society Hill
Penn's Landing - encompassed by the Delaware Riverfront.
Fairmount - incorporates the Spring Garden community, the Benjamin Franklin
Parkway museum district on its periphery and borders Fairmount Park. The
museum district includes the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Academy of Natural
Sciences, the Rodin Museum, the Franklin Institute, Eastern State
Penitentiary and the main branch of the Philadelphia Public Library. The
Barnes Foundation plans to relocate within this vicinity in the near future.
Fairmount enjoys a multiethnic mix from all socioeconomic strata.
Fishtown
Northern Liberties
Chinatown
North Philadelphia
Port Richmond
Olney
Kensington
Northwestern Neighborhoods
Roxborough
Manayunk
Chestnut Hill
Cedarbrook
Mount Airy
Oak Lane
Germantown
East Falls
The Northeast
the 'Far Northeast'
Bustleton
Byberry
Upper Holmesburg
Pennypack
Somerton
Torresdale
the 'Near Northeast'
Fox Chase
Frankford
Holmesburg
Lawndale
Lexington
Mayfair
Oxford Circle
Tacony
Wissinoming
Southwest Philadelphia
Kingsessing
Eastwick
Elmwood Park
Penrose
People and culture of Philadelphia
Philadelphia is known for distinctive food
Cheesesteaks, a kind of humble culinary masterpiece, made of cheese (usually
either Cheez Wiz(tm), provolone or American) and slices of fried ribeye
steak on a hoagie roll, sometimes combined with onions and/or mushrooms
Hoagies -- a type of sandwich made with cold cuts on a Italian roll
scrapple -- corn meal mush cooked up with every part (scrap) of the pig
Italian water ice -- a frozen dessert, similar to a slushie except stiffer
soft pretzel -- thick, doughy pretzels, generally salted, often served with
mustard
Philadelphia still gets many immigrants, and has a large Italian American
population along with Irish-Americans, Asian-Americans, and growing numbers
of Hispanic residents and Russian emigres.
List of famous Philadelphians
Marian Anderson - opera singer/contralto
Ed Bacon - urban planner
Kevin Bacon - actor
Pearl Bailey - singer, dancer, actress
John Barrymore - actor
Nick Berg (from nearby West Chester), man who was beheaded in Iraq
Mohini Bhardwaj - American gymnast
Boyz II Men - singers
Kobe Bryant - basketball player
Alexander Calder - artist
Wilt Chamberlain - basketball legend
John Chaney - Temple University basketball coach
Noam Chomsky - linguist
Stanley Clarke - bassist
John Coltrane - saxophonist
Bill Cosby - comedian/actor
Mike Douglas - singer/television talk-show host
Julius Erving - basketball legend
Eve - rapper/actress
Larry Fine - actor
W. C. Fields -actor
Benjamin Franklin - statesman, Revolutionary War patriot, inventor
Richard Gere - actor
Stan Getz - saxophonist
Oscar Goodman - Attorney and Mayor of Las Vegas, Nevada
Daryl Hall (of Hall and Oates) - singer
Marvin Harrison -football player
Sherman Hemsley - actor
Allen Iverson -basketball player
DJ Jazzy Jeff (of DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince) - hip-hop DJ
Michael Johns - health care exec and former government official
Louis Kahn - architect
Grace Kelly - princess of Monaco
Patti LaBelle - singer
Mario Lanza - singer
John Oates (of Hall and Oates) - singer
Teddy Pendergrass - singer
Trudy Pitts - Jazz Keyboardist
Philip Syng Physick - father of American surgery
Paul Robeson - singer/activist
M. Night Shyamalan - movie director
Will Smith (Fresh Prince) - comedian/Actor
Rasheed Wallace -basketball player
John Wanamaker - department store founder
Grover Washington, Jr. - jazz musician
Chris Matthews - television talk-show host
Philadelphia in film and television
1776 (Film version of Broadway musical, 1972)
Amen (TV series, 1986-1991)
American Bandstand (Dance party show, 1952-1964 in Philadelphia; aired from
Los Angeles 1964-1989)
American Dreams (TV Series, 2002-present)
Angie (TV series, ?)
Beloved (Oprah Winfrey feature film, 1998)
Blow Out (Feature film, 197?)
Boy Meets World (TV series, 1993-1999)
Cold Case (TV series, 2003- )
Fallen (Feature film, 1988)
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (Feature film, 1967)
Hack (TV Series 2002?-2004
Jersey Girl (Feature film, 2003)
Manequin (Feature film, 198?)
Philadelphia (Feature film, 1993)
Philly (TV Series, 2001-2002)
Rocky (Feature film, 1976)
Rocky II (Feature film, 1979)
Rocky III (Feature film, 1982)
Rocky V (Feature film, 1990)
Signs (Feature film, 2002) (filmed in adjacent Bucks County)
Taps (Feature film, 1981) (also filmed at adjacent Valley Forge Military
Academy and other nearby locations)
The Sixth Sense (Feature film, 1999)
Trading Places (Feature film, 1983)
Twelve Monkeys (Terry Gilliam feature film, 1995)
Unbreakable (Feature film, 2000)
The Village (Feature film, 2004)
Witness (Feature film, 1985)
Colleges and universities in Philadelphia
The Curtis Institute of Music
LaSalle University
Drexel University
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia University
Saint Joseph's University
University of the Arts
University of the Sciences in Philadelphia
Temple University
Thomas Jefferson University
Holy Family University
Chestnut Hill College
Colleges and universities in the vicinity of Philadelphia include Bryn Mawr
College, located in Bryn Mawr; Haverford College; and Villanova University,
located in Villanova, all three located northwest of Philadelphia on the
Pennsylvania Main Line; Swarthmore College, located in Swarthmore; and
Widener University, located in Chester.
Professional sports in Philadelphia
Philadelphia has a long and proud history of professional sports teams.
Philadelphia sports fans have a reputation of being devoted to their teams
in good times and bad. Of late Philadelphia teams have been performing well,
but frequently missing championships by failing during the crucial stages.
football: Philadelphia Eagles (National Football League)
baseball: Philadelphia Phillies(Major League Baseball)
basketball: Philadelphia 76ers (National Basketball Association)
hockey: Philadelphia Flyers (National Hockey League), Philadelphia Phantoms
(American Hockey League)
arena football: Philadelphia Soul (Arena Football League)
indoor lacrosse: Philadelphia Wings (National Lacrosse League)
indoor soccer: Philadelphia Kixx (Major Indoor Soccer League)
The Philadelphia Charge ( Women's Soccer) and Philadelphia Barrage (Major
League Lacrosse, lacrosse) plays at the stadium of Villanova University,
which is located in Villanova.
In the past Philadelphia has also been home to the Philadelphia Athletics
(MLB, now the Oakland Athletics), and the Philadelphia Warriors (NBA, now
the Golden State Warriors). The city's original NFL team was the Frankford
Yellow Jackets (Frankford being a section of the city located in the
northeastern part of town); the club disbanded during the 1931 football
season, then re-emerged under the same ownership two years later as the
Philadelphia Eagles.
The Eagles, Phillies, Flyers and 76ers have each recently had a new stadium
built for them. The Eagles now play at Lincoln Financial Field (a.k.a. "The
Link"). The Phillies now play in Citizen's Bank Park (a.k.a. "The Park").
The 76er's and Flyers share the Wachovia Center. The Wachovia Spectum is now
home to the Soul, Kixx and Wings.
List of museums and libraries
Philadelphia Museum of Art
University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology
Rodin Museum (largest collection of Auguste Rodin's works outside France)
Barnes Foundation
Atwater-Kent Municipal Museum
Rosenbach Foundation
Liberty Bell & Independence Hall
Franklin Institute
Please Touch Museum
Fort Mifflin
Mütter Museum of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia (museum of
medical and pathological oddities and curiosities)
Edgar Allan Poe House
Rosenbach Museum
National Constitution Center
Fairmount Waterworks and its interpretive center
Free Library of Philadelphia
List of sites of interest in Philadelphia
Independence Hall
LOVE Park
Fairmount Park
Eastern State Penitentiary
Elfreth's alley
Philadelphia Zoo
Betsy Ross House
Penn's Landing
Italian market
Reading Terminal Market
South Street
Constitution Center
One Liberty Place
For a traditional Philadelphia cheesesteak - Pat's Steaks or Geno's Steaks
Events
Mummers Parade
Greek Picnic
Wing Bowl
Philadelphia Flower Show
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