Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||
| Nickname(s): City of Brotherly Love, Philly, the Quaker City | |||||
| Motto: Philadelphia maneto (Let brotherly love continue) | |||||
| Location in Southeastern Pennsylvania Location in Southeastern Pennsylvania | |||||
| Country State Counties | United States Pennsylvania Philadelphia | ||||
| Government | |||||
| • Mayor | John F. Street (D) | ||||
| Population (2004) | |||||
| • City | 1,470,151 | ||||
| • Metro | 5,751,803 | ||||
| Time zone | UTC-5 (EST) | ||||
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) | ||||
| Website | http://www.phila.gov | ||||
| |||||
- "Philadelphia" redirects here. For other uses, see Philadelphia (disambiguation).
Philadelphia is the fifth most populous city in the United States and the largest in population and area in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The city is coterminous with Philadelphia County.Template:GR Since 1952, the city and county have shared a common government, yet the county still exists as a separate entity within Pennsylvania. As of July 1, 2004, the population of the city was estimated at 1,470,151. Philadelphia has the third largest downtown residential population in the U.S., behind New York and Chicago. It is also the second largest city on the U.S. East Coast (after New York).
The Philadelphia metropolitan area is the fourth largest in the U.S. by the current official definition, with some 5.7 million people, though other definitions rank it sixth behind the San Francisco Bay Area and Washington-Baltimore. Philadelphia is the central city of the Delaware Valley metropolitan area.
Philadelphia is one of the oldest and most historically significant cities in the United States. During part of the 18th century, the city was the second capital and most populous city of the United States. At that time, it eclipsed Boston and New York City in political and social importance, with Benjamin Franklin playing an extraordinary role in Philadelphia's rise.
The city limits have been coterminous with Philadelphia County since The Act of Consolidation, 1854. Until then, the city consisted only of the area bounded by South and Vine Streets and the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers. The city's expansion incorporated current day West Philadelphia, South Philadelphia, North Philadelphia, and Northeast Philadelphia, as well as Germantown and many smaller communities.
Philadelphia is also one of the largest college towns in the U.S., with over 120,000 college and university students enrolled within the city limits and nearly 300,000 in the metropolitan area.
History
Before Europeans arrived, the Delaware (Lenape) Indian town of Shackamaxon was located where Philadelphia now stands, specifically the Germantown neighborhood. Although the area lay within the bounds described in the 1632 Charter of Maryland, the Calvert family's influence never reached this far north, and the first European settlers were mostly Swedes (see New Sweden), who called it Wiccacoa. A congregation was formed in 1646 on Tinicum Island by Swedish missionary Johannes Campanius; in 1700, the group built Gloria Dei Church, also known as Old Swedes'.
Philadelphia is a planned city, founded and developed in 1682 by William Penn, a Quaker. The city's name means "brotherly love" in Greek (Φιλαδέλφια). Penn hoped that the city, as the capital of his new colony founded on principles of freedom and religious tolerance, would be a model of this philosophy. During early immigration by Quakers and others, immigrants who purchased land in the city also received farmland outside the city; this was intended to allow the population to leave the city easily. Penn also mandated the construction of alleyways and open spaces, in the hope of controlling fires and disease, which were then common problems in London and other major cities.
Philadelphia was a major center of the independence movement during the American Revolutionary War. The Declaration of Independence and US Constitution were drafted here and signed in the city's Independence Hall. The United States Marine Corps also began here on November 10 1775, when Samuel Nicholas began recruiting men at Tun Tavern.
For a time in the 18th century, Philadelphia was the largest city in the Americas north of Mexico City, and the fourth largest under the rule of the British crown (after London, Bristol, and Dublin).
In 1790, as the result of a compromise between a number of Southern congressmen and Alexander Hamilton, then Secretary of the Treasury, the seat of the United States Government was moved from Federal Hall in New York to Congress Hall in Philadelphia, before assuming its current site in Washington, DC. In exchange for locating a permanent capital on the banks of the Potomac, the congressmen agreed to support Hamilton's financial proposals. Philadelphia served as capital for a decade, 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 eventually 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 in the city, as was its merger successor, the Penn Central, and in turn its freight railroad successor, Conrail.
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 to celebrate the nation's 150th birthday.
In 1976, Philadelphia was one of the participating cities in the United States Bicentennial observances that took place nationwide.
Geography and climate
Geography
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 Delaware River, Schuylkill River, Cobbs Creek, Wissahickon Creek, and Pennypack Creek.
The lowest point in the city lies 10 feet above sea level near Fort Mifflin in Southwest Philadelphia at the convergence of the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers. The highest point is in Chestnut Hill, at 432 feet above sea level, near Evergreen Place, just north and west of Evergreen Avenue.
Climate
The climate is temperate, with four seasons. Summers are hot and often muggy, with humidity tending to run high in July and August. Fall and spring are mild. The rainfall is generally spread throughout the year, with between six and nine wet days per month, at an average annual rate of 1068 mm (42 in). Winters are cold, but only a few winter days see the temperature drop below -10° C (14° F). Snowfall is variable, with some winters bringing little and others blanketed by more frequent snowstorms. The city center and inner New Jersey suburbs generally have light snow, with heavier falls occurring to the north and west of the metropole. January lows average -4° C (25° F) and highs average 4° C (39° F). July lows average 21° C (70° F) and highs average 30° C (86° F) although during heat waves, summer highs can cross 35° C (95° F) with the heat index due to humidity running as high as 43° C (110° F). The lowest temperature ever officially recorded was -22° C (-7° F) in 1984, and the highest was 40° C (104° F) in 1966. Early fall and late winter are generally the driest, with February being the driest month with an average of 69.8 mm (2.74 in) of precipitation. Summers are typically humid and rainy, and July gets the highest average precipitation at 111.5 mm (4.39 in).
Cityscape
Penn's surveyor, Thomas Holme, laid out the city in a strict grid, with streets running either north-south or east-west. The north-south streets are numbered ascendingly from Front (instead of First), along the Delaware River, with the main north-south thoroughfare, Broad Street (instead of 14th) running midway between the two rivers. 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. Six blocks south of Market is South Street, the original southern boundary of the city. Vine Street, three blocks north of Market, was the original northern boundary.
Holme also planned five public parks, one at the intersection of High and Broad Streets in the very center of the city, now occupied by City Hall, and four others surrounding it now called Washington Square, Rittenhouse Square, Logan Square and Franklin Square. 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. Both Logan Square and Franklin Square are located the same distances east and west of City Hall as Washington and Rittenhouse and two to three blocks north of Market Street, reflecting the southern squares.
The post-World War II era would see further changes. Under the leadership of Edmund N. Bacon, the Philadelphia City Planning Commission organized a master plan for the city, creating a variety of special planning, redevelopment, development districts and areas to coordinate their efforts. Projects that were headed by the new master plan were major redevelopment of Center City, including the Penn Center Area (replacing an immense, elevated railroad connector, locally known as the "Chinese Wall," located north of Market and West of Broad), Market East and Penn's Landing; new development and expansion in University City (focused mainly on the University of Pennsylvania); as well as the opening up of development on the fringes of the city, the Far Northeast and South Philadelphia Sports Complex. One of his enduring innovations is a group of small, semi-enclosed parks in the Society Hill residential area, connected by brick footpaths.
Bacon's efforts would also see changes in the transportation of the city, with the inclusion of the Center City Rail Connector, Vine Street Expressway, Delaware Expressway, and improvements to the Schuylkill Expressway. Many of Bacon's ideas, though not entirely as he had envisioned, can be seen today, with the basis of his master plan still influencing development in the city.
Buildings and architecture
The city's tallest skyscrapers:
| Height | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Name | (ft) | (m) | Floors | Year | |
| 1 | One Liberty Place | 945 | 288 | 61 | 1987 | |
| 2 | Two Liberty Place | 848 | 258 | 58 | 1990 | |
| 3 | Mellon Bank Center | 792 | 241 | 54 | 1990 | |
| 4 | Bell Atlantic Tower (Verizon Tower) | 739 | 225 | 55 | 1991 | |
| 5 | G. Fred DiBona, Jr. Building (Blue Cross Building) | 625 | 191 | 45 | 1990 | |
| 6 | One Commerce Square | 565 | 172 | 41 | 1987 | |
| 7 | Two Commerce Square | 565 | 172 | 41 | 1992 | |
| 8 | Philadelphia City Hall | 548 | 167 | 9 | 1901 | |
| 9 | 1818 Market Street | 500 | 152 | 40 | 1974 | |
| 10 | The St. James | 498 | 152 | 45 | 2004 | |
| 11 | Loews Philadelphia Hotel (old PSFS Building) | 492 | 150 | 36 | 1932 | |
| 12 | PNC Bank Building | 491 | 150 | 40 | 1983 | |
| 13 | Centre Square II | 490 | 149 | 40 | 1973 | |
| 14 | Five Penn Center | 490 | 149 | 36 | 1970 | |
| 15 | One South Broad | 472 | 144 | 28 | 1932 | |
Neighborhoods
Philadelphia has many neighborhoods, each of which has its own identity. Many of these neighborhoods coincide with the borough and townships that made up Philadelphia County before their absorption by the city. These include Andorra, Fairmount, Bella Vista, Belmont, Brewerytown, Bustleton, Center City, Chestnut Hill, Chinatown, East Falls, East Oak Lane, West Oak Lane, Feltonville, Fishtown, Fitler Square, Fox Chase, Frankford, Germantown, Grays Ferry, Hawthorne, Holmesburg, Juniata, Kensington, Kingsessing, Lawncrest, Logan, Manayunk, Mayfair, Mount Airy, North Philadelphia, Northern Liberties, Old City, Olney, Overbrook, Oxford Circle, Pennsport, Pennypack, Point Breeze, Port Richmond, Powelton Village, Queen Village, Rittenhouse Square, Roxborough, Society Hill, Somerton, South Philadelphia, Southwark, Southwest Center City, Strawberry Mansion, University City, Tacony, Washington Square West, Wister, Wynnefield, and many others.
Suburbs
Philadelphia also has a significant suburban area which depends on its economy and public transportation, including areas of southeastern Pennsylvania (including the historic Main Line), southern New Jersey and northern Delaware.
Economy
Philadelphia's economy is heavily based upon manufacturing, refining, food, and financial services. The city also has its own stock exchange.
The city is home to many major Fortune 500 companies, including cable television and internet provider Comcast, insurance companies CIGNA and Lincoln Financial Group, energy company Sunoco, food services company Aramark, Crown Holdings Incorporated, Rohm and Haas Company, the pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, Boeing helicopters division, and automotive parts retailer Pep Boys.
The Federal government plays a large role in Philadelphia as well. The city served as the capital city of the United States, before the construction of Washington, D.C. Today, 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.
Due in part to the historical presence of the Pennsylvania Railroad, and the large ridership at 30th Street Station, Amtrak also maintains a significant presence in the city. These jobs include customer service representatives and ticket processing and other behind-the-scenes personnel, in addition to the normal functions of the railroad.
Because of the presence of the federal government, the city has a large contingent of law firms. The city is also a national center of law due to the prestigious University of Pennsylvania Law School and the Temple University Beasley School of Law. Drexel University also is opening a new College of Law in the fall of 2006.
People and culture
Demographics
| City of Philadelphia Population by year [1] | |
|
1790 - 28,522 | |
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 1,517,550 people, 590,071 households, and 352,272 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,337.3/km² (11,233.6/mi²). There were 661,958 housing units at an average density of 1,891.9/km² (4,900.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 45.0% White, 43.2% African American, 0.2% Native American, 4.4% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, from 4.7% other races, and 2.2% from two or more races. 8.5% of the population were 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% were married couples living together, 22.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.3% were non-families. 33.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.22.
In the city the population was 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 were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 86.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $30,746, and the median income for a family was $37,036. Males had a median income of $34,199 versus $28,477 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,509. 22.9% of the population and 18.4% of families were below the poverty line. 31.3% of those under the age of 18 and 16.9% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.
The ethnic makeup of the city is 32.5% African American, 13.6% Irish, 9.2% Italian, 6.6% Puerto Rican, 6.4% German, and 4.3% Polish.
Philadelphia has the second largest Irish, Italian, and Jamaican populations, the third largest Puerto Rican population, and the fourth largest African American population in the nation. In recent years, the Hispanic and Asian American populations have significantly increased. Hispanics, mostly Puerto Ricans, have settled throughout the city, especially around El Centro de Oro. The Asian population was once concentrated in the city's thriving Chinatown, but now Korean Americans have come to Olney, and Vietnamese have forged bazaars next to the Italian Market in South Philadelphia. Indians and Arabs have come to Northeast Philadelphia along with Russian and Ukrainian immigrants. The West Indian population is concentrated in Cedar Park. Germans, Greeks, Chinese, Japanese, English, Pakistanis, Iranians, and other ethnic groups can be found throughout the city.
Annual fairs and events
Annual fairs and events unique to or closely associated with Philadelphia include:
- The Mummers Parade, held New Year's Day on Broad Street
- The Greek Picnic, a reunion and celebration of African-American college fraternities
- The Wing Bowl, a chicken wing eating competition
- Philadelphia Flower Show, the premier horticultural show in the U.S., held in February.
- Philadelphia Fringe Festival
- Philadelphia Folk Festival
- Philadelphia Film Festival
- Philadelphia International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival
- Philadelphia Auto Show
- Unity Day
- OutFest/PrideFest
- The Philadelphia Antiques Show, generally regarded as the best Americana antiques show in the nation, held in early April.
Food
Philadelphia is the home of many culinary institutions, both gourmet and humble local staples. Philadelphia's cuisine is perhaps second only to New York City's among American cities, with more restaurants in Philadelphia scoring a 29 in the 2005 Zagat Restaurant Guide than in any other city.
The city is commonly identified with the cheesesteak, which is claimed as a local invention. Also well known are its soft pretzels and Italian ice (known in Philadelphia as "water ice").
Odunde is an major festival based on the Yoruba belief system in Nigeria and celebrated by African Americans in Philadelphia with about 20,000 people in attendance annually.
Notable residents
Philadelphia has been home to many people of note, the most famous of whom is probably Ben Franklin, who along with the others in the Continental Congresses helped shape the city along with the country and the world. Later as a temporary Capital of the United States, it was home to President George Washington for several years.
Its cultural diversity is reflected in the music and musicians who have come from or through Philadelphia: the R&B styles of Patti LaBelle, Teddy Pendergrass, Boyz II Men, Glenn Lewis, and Kindred the Family Soul; the jazz of John Coltrane, Grover Washington, Jr., McCoy Tyner, Stan Getz, and Sun Ra; the '50s rock 'n' roll of Fabian, Bobby Rydell, and Chubby Checker; the rock music of Todd Rundgren, the Dead Milkmen, Hall & Oates, G Love and Special Sauce, and Pink; the Neo Soul of Musiq, Floetry, and Jill Scott; the electronic sounds of King Britt, Josh Wink, and Vikter Duplaix; and the opera of Marian Anderson and Mario Lanza.
Philadelphia is also home to a sizeable Hip-Hop community, with numerous artists such as The Roots, Bahamadia, Last Emperor, Beanie Siegel, the Mountain Brothers, and the legendary DJ Jazzy Jeff (of DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince fame), among many others.
Grammy award winning artist John Legend began his professional music career while attending the University of Pennsylvania.
Famed comedian Bill Cosby was born and raised in Philadelphia as well as actors Grace Kelly, Will Smith, Seth Green, John Barrymore, Peter Boyle, and Kevin Bacon. Others, like Richard Gere, were born in Philadelphia, but moved elsewhere in their youths. Kathryn Morris (of TV's Cold Case, set in Philly), was born in Ohio but attended Philadelphia's Temple University.
Film director M. Night Shyamalan sets just about all of his movies in or around Philadelphia with Wide Awake, The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, The Village and Signs.
Playwright Albert Innaurato, a native of South Philadelphia, is the author of the Obie-award-winning comedy Gemini, set in the neighborhood where he grew up. Innaurato is the author of many plays and screenplays and is a world-renowned opera scholar and arts commentator.
Current Saturday Night Live cast member Tina Fey hails from the Philadelphia suburb of Upper Darby; former SNLer Cheri Oteri was also an Upper Darby resident.
Media
The city is served by two major daily newspapers, The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News. Weeklies include Philadelphia Business Journal, Philadelphia Weekly, the Philadelphia City Paper, the South Philly Review, the Philadelphia Gay News. Philadelphia Magazine, a monthly, covers the entire metropolitan area.
Television
The metropolitan area is served by stations of six major television networks, ABC (WPVI, Ch. 6), CBS (KYW, Ch. 3), NBC (WCAU, Ch. 10), PBS (WHYY, Ch. 12), UPN (WPSG, Ch. 57), The WB (WPHL, Ch. 17) and Fox (WTXF, Ch. 29), as well as several PBS and independent stations.
Origivation Magazine, a free local music publication, has been circulating around its homebase of Philadelphia since late 2001.
Radio
Philadelphia's highest rated radio stations are adult contemporary B101, urban adult contemporary WDAS, and all-news radio station KYW-AM. In 2005, Philadelphia became the largest city in the United States without a modern rock-format radio station, in part because of the difficulty such a station has in gaining market share from the city's two active rock-format stations, WMMR and WYSP. But that didn't last long. In December and January (2005, 2006), WXRK in New York City flipped to Free FM, making New York the largest market with a modern rock format. In late 2005, WYSP was replaced by Free-FM, a talk-rock hybrid based upon the listening hour. Y100 had formerly been a modern rock station, but its format was changed to rhythmic top 40 in early 2005 by parent company Radio One.
Philadelphia's current sports talk radio station, WIP, became the city's "Pioneer Radio Voice" on March 17, 1922. The station, which was owned and operated by the Gimbel Brothers Department Store, was the city's first radio station. WHYY-FM (90.9 FM) is Philadelphia's NPR affiliate. WHYY-FM produces Fresh Air. Other popular stations include WUSL, which plays the mainstream urban format, WXTU, which plays country music, and WOGL, which plays oldies.
Four universities operate radio stations. Temple University is home to 91FM. WXPN is operated by the University of Pennsylvania. WKDU is Drexel University's station. WEXP is La Salle University Radio. It is the city's only true freeform radio station, and also known for sports coverage.
See also
Museums, art collections, and sites of interest
- 30th Street Station
- Academy of Natural Sciences
- Afro-American Historical and Cultural Museum
- Atwater-Kent Municipal Museum
- Awbury Arboretum
- Barnes Foundation
- Bartram's Garden
- Betsy Ross House
- Boathouse Row
- Cathedral-Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul
- Centennial Arboretum
- Clark Park in West Philadelphia features the only known life-sized statue of Charles Dickens in the world.
- Curtis Hall Arboretum in Wyncote, Pennsylvania
- Eastern State Penitentiary
- Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site
- Elfreth's Alley
- Fairmount Park
- Fairmount Water Works and its interpretive center
- Fort Mifflin
- Franklin Institute
- Gazela Primero Philadelphia's historic Tall Ship.
- Gloria Dei National Historic Site, built in 1700, is the oldest church in the state.
- Independence Seaport Museum[2]
- Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, home of the Philadelphia Orchestra, one of America's "Big Five" orchestras and regarded as one of the best symphonic orchestras in the world.
- Liberty Bell & Independence Hall
- LOVE Park
- Mummers Museum
- Mütter Museum of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia (museum of medical and pathological oddities and curiosities)
- National Constitution Center
- New Alhambra Sports and Entertainment Center (formerly ECW Arena)
- One Liberty Place
- Penn's Landing
- Philadelphia City Hall
- Philadelphia Doll Musuem
- Italian market
- Philadelphia Museum of Art houses outstanding collections of European and Asian art.
- Philadelphia Zoo
- Please Touch Museum
- Reading Terminal Market
- Rittenhouse Square
- Rodin Museum (largest collection of Auguste Rodin's works outside France)
- Rosenbach Museum & Library
- SEPTA Museum
- South Street
- Toynbee tiles
- University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology
- Wagner Free Institute of Science
- Walnut Street Theatre, the oldest operating theatre in America
- Wanamaker organ, largest operating pipe organ in the world
Sports
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 in bad. Of late Philadelphia teams have been performing well, but frequently missing championships by failing during the crucial stages. Some locals half-jokingly attribute this to the Curse of Billy Penn. The city's last major championship came in 1983, when the 76ers swept the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals. The Philadelphia Wings, the local National Lacrosse League team, won six championships between 1989 and 2001.
The Eagles, Phillies, Flyers, and 76ers have each recently had new venues built for them. The Eagles currently play at Lincoln Financial Field (known informally as "The Linc"), built in 2003. The Phillies now play at Citizens Bank Park (2004). The Sixers and Flyers share the Wachovia Center (formerly the First Union Center - still affectionately referred to as the "F.U. Center" by fans) (1996) with the Wings and the Philadelphia Soul (Arena Football League) arena football team. The Wachovia Spectrum (1967) is now home to the Flyers' top farm team, the Philadelphia Phantoms (American Hockey League), and the Philadelphia Kixx (Major Indoor Soccer League), an Indoor soccer team.
The Philadelphia Barrage (Major League Lacrosse) play at Villanova University's stadium, in Villanova, Pennsylvania (Delaware County), just outside Philadelphia to the west. Philadelphia also hosts the annual Army-Navy football game, now played at Lincoln Financial Field.
Philadelphia has also been home also 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 neighborhood in Northeast Philadelphia); the club disbanded during the 1931 football season, then re-emerged under the same ownership two years later as the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Manayunk area is also home to the annual USPRO bicycle race, which is the US road racing national championship. The main feature of the race is the "Manayunk Wall", an inclined street including all of Levering Avenue and a few blocks of Lyceum Avenue. The race has been largely credited with the economic revival of the neighborhood, and cycling is a prominent theme of many of the shops and restaurants in the area.
Philadelphia is also home to the Big Five, a unique basketball rivalry among five local universities;Temple University, St. Joseph's University, the University of Pennsylvania, Villanova University, and La Salle University. Originating in 1955, the Big Five play many of their games at the Palestra, a venerable brick gymnasium on Penn's campus. In the past, fans would throw streamers of their school's colors onto the court when their team scored its first points. Big Five games are notoriously hard fought and close scoring games with the outcomes providing bragging rights for the winning schools until the next year's matchup.
Philadelphia hosts the annual Penn Relays, held at Franklin Field, the largest early-season track and field meet in the U.S. It is also home of the annual Dad Vail Regatta, the largest intercollegiate rowing event in the U.S., held on the Schuylkill River.
Philadelphia is considering a bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Crime
Like many American cities, Philadelphia saw a gradual, yet pronounced, rise in crime in the years following World War II. Murders peaked at 503 in 1990, for a rate of 31.5 per 100,000, and they averaged around 400 a year for most of the nineties. In 2002 the murder count hit a low of 288, but by 2005 the annual total had surged to 380, for a rate of 25.85 per 100,000.
According to statistics from 2004, there were 5,513.5 crimes per 100,000 people in Philadelphia. In 2005, going by these statistics, Philadelphia was ranked by Morgan Quitno as the sixth-most dangerous American city with a population of over 500,000, out of a total of 32 such cities. Among its neighboring Northeastern cities in the same population group, Washington, DC and Baltimore were ranked second- and third- most dangerous, while New York City was ranked fourth-safest; Camden, New Jersey, across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, was ranked most-dangerous overall.
See also
Telecommunications
Southeastern Pennsylvania has been served the 215 area code since 1947 when the North American Numbering Plan went into effect. The area covered by the code was severely truncated when area code 610 was split from 215. Today only the city and its northern suburbs are covered by 215. Overlay code 267 was added to the 215 service area in 1997.
Government & Politics
| Year | Republican | Democratic |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 19.3% 130,099 | 80.4% 542,205 |
| 2000 | 18.0% 100,959 | 80.0% 449,182 |
| 1996 | 16.0% 85,345 | 77.5% 412,988 |
| 1992 | 20.9% 133,328 | 68.2% 434,904 |
| 1988 | 32.5% 219,053 | 66.6% 449,566 |
| 1984 | 34.6% 267,178 | 64.9% 501,369 |
| 1980 | 34.0% 244,108 | 58.7% 421,253 |
| 1976 | 32.0% 239,000 | 66.3% 494,579 |
| 1972 | 43.4% 340,096 | 55.1% 431,736 |
| 1968 | 30.0% 254,153 | 61.8% 525,768 |
| 1964 | 26.2% 239,733 | 73.4% 670,645 |
| 1960 | 31.8% 291,000 | 68.0% 622,544 |
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.
The city is headed by an elected mayor who is limited to two consecutive four-year terms, but can run for the position again after an intervening term. The incumbent is former Philadelphia City Council President John F. Street (D), who was elected in 1999, and re-elected by a larger majority in 2003. Philadelphia's mayors have been Democrats since 1952.
The legislative branch of Philadelphia is the Philadelphia City Council, which consists of ten council members representing individual districts and seven members elected at-large. The current council president is Anna C. Verna.
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 that hears violations of traffic laws.
Pennsylvania's three appellate courts also have sittings 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 these courts are elected at large. Each court has a prothonotary's office in Philadelphia as well.
From the American Civil War until the Great Depression, Philadelphia was a bastion of the Republican Party, which came from the extreme pro-Northern views of Philadelphia residents during and after the war. After the Great Depression, the city swung Democratic, although it was not carried by Franklin D. Roosevelt in his landslide victory of 1932 (which helped make Pennsylvania one of the few states that Herbert Hoover won that year.) Since then, the city has not voted for a Republican in any Presidential Election, despite Republicans being often elected to statewide offices since the 1930s; in 2004, Democrat John Kerry won 80% of the city's vote, despite only narrowly winning Pennsylvania.
As of November 2004, 16.5% of registered voters in Philadelphia are Republicans, 74.9% are Democrats, and 8.6% are other or unaffiliated.
Education
Public schools
All of Philadelphia is served by the School District of Philadelphia. All schools in the district are required to have a school uniform or a similar dress code.
Private schools
Philadelphia is home to the most extensive Catholic education system in the nation. Along with hundreds of parish-based elementary schools, there are also twelve Catholic high schools within the city ranging from Archdiocesan high schools to private Catholic high schools. All of the Catholic schools are affiliated with the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
Higher education
Transportation
Philadelphia is served by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), which operates buses, trains, rapid transit, trolleys, and trackless trolleys throughout Philadelphia and the four Pennsylvania suburban counties of Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery. One of the 7 SEPTA Regional Rail lines offers direct service to the Philadelphia International Airport, while another line runs south to Wilmington and Newark, Delaware.
Philadelphia's 30th Street Station is a major railroad station on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor, which offers access to Amtrak, SEPTA, and New Jersey Transit lines.
PATCO provides rapid transit 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.
Airports
Two airports serve Philadelphia, Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) located in Tinicum Township, Delaware County, and Northeast Philadelphia Airport (PNE) a general aviation reliever airport located in Northeast Philadelphia. Philadelphia International Airport provides scheduled domestic and international air service, while Northeast Philadelphia Airport serves general and corporate aviation.
Roads
Interstate 95 (I-95), which runs through the city along the Delaware River, is the main north-south artery.
The city is also served by Interstate 76, the Schuylkill Expressway, which runs along the Schuylkill River. It meets the Pennsylvania Turnpike at King of Prussia, providing access to Harrisburg and points west.
Interstate 676, the Vine Street Expressway, was completed in 1991 after years of planning. A link between I-95 and I-76, it runs below street level through Center City, connecting to the Ben Franklin Bridge at its eastern end.
Roosevelt Boulevard and the Roosevelt Expressway (U.S. Route 1) connect Northeast Philadelphia with Center City. The boulevard was built for the Lincoln Highway as part of the City Beautiful movement. In recent years, it has become a traffic bottleneck, and includes the second and third deadliest intersections in the U.S. within a single mile, according to a study by State Farm Insurance.
The Woodhaven Expressway (PA 63), built in 1966, serves the neighborhoods of Northeast Philadelphia, running between Interstate 95 and the Roosevelt Boulevard (U.S. Route 1). Plans to extend it westward into the suburbs were quashed by community opposition when the highway was first built. Severe traffic congestion over the past four decades on adjoining Byberry Road has led to renewed plans for extension and expansion. Several suggested plans would expand different roads using different methods to connect to the highway. A final decision has not yet been reached, and undoubtedly the construction phase will continue for several years after the planning stage is completed.
The Delaware River Port Authority operates four bridges in the Philadelphia area across the Delaware River to New Jersey: the Walt Whitman Bridge (I-76), the Benjamin Franklin Bridge (I-676 and US 30), the Betsy Ross Bridge (NJ 90), and the Commodore Barry Bridge (US 322). The Tacony-Palmyra Bridge connects PA 73 with NJ 73, and is maintained by the Burlington County Bridge Commission.
Other planned freeways have been cancelled, such as an Interstate 695 running southwest from downtown, and a freeway upgrade of Roosevelt Boulevard.
Not all highways important to Philadelphia cross into the city limits. The Pennsylvania Turnpike bypasses the city to the north, and the New Jersey Turnpike, the main highway connection to New York City and points beyond, bypasses the city to the east and south.
References
Rail
Since the early days of rail transport in the United States, Philadelphia has served as hub for several major rail companies, especially the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) and the Reading Railroad (Reading). The PRR first operated Broad Street Station, then 30th Street Station and Suburban Station, and the Reading operated out of Reading Terminal, now part of the Pennsylvania Convention Center. The two companies also operated competing commuter-rail systems in the area, known collectively as the Regional Rail system. The two systems today, for the most part still intact but now connected, operate as a single system under the control of SEPTA, the regional transit authority.
Philadelphia is notable also as one of the few North American cities to maintain streetcar lines. In addition to "subway-surface" trolleys (so called because during the years when the city was served by over 2000 trolleys and more than 65 lines, these were the "surface" cars that ran also in the subway), the city recently re-introduced the Girard Avenue Line, Route 15; considered by some a "heritage" line, its use of rebuilt 1947 streetcars was primarily for budgetary reasons, rather than as an historic tribute.
Today Philadelphia is a hub of the semi-nationalized Amtrak system, with 30th Street Station being the primary local stop on the Washington-Boston Northeast Corridor and the Keystone Corridor to Harrisburg and Pittsburgh. 30th Street also serves as a major station for services via the PRR's former Pennsylvania Main Line to Chicago, Illinois. 30th Street is Amtrak's third-busiest station in terms of passengers as of FY 2003. It is also a terminus of New Jersey Transit's Atlantic City Line.
Sister cities
Philadelphia has ten sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI):
Logan Square, found only a few blocks northwest of City Hall on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, is home to the Sister Cities Plaza, which commemorates Philadelphia's special relationship with Tel-Aviv and Florence. The plaza occupies the southeast corner of the square.
Quotations
- During the short time that young Mark Twain spent in Philadelphia working for the Philadelphia Inquirer he wrote: "Unlike New York, I like this Philadelphia amazingly, and the people in it. . . . I saw small steamboats, with their signs up--"For Wissahickon and Manayunk 25 cents." Geo. Lippard, in his Legends of Washington and his Generals, has rendered the Wissahickon sacred in my eyes, and I shall make that trip, as well as one to Germantown, soon . . . ."
Philadelphia in Motion Pictures
For a more complete list of films set in the city, see Philadelphia in film and television.
- Rocky (1976)
- Trading Places (1983)
- Blow Out (1981)
- Witness (1985)
- Mannequin (1987)
- Philadelphia (1993)
- 12 Monkeys (1995)
- The Sixth Sense (1999)
- Unbreakable (2000)
- The Italian Job (2003)
- National Treasure (2004)
- In Her Shoes (2005)
Philadelphia in Books
- Philadelphia is the main setting for the John J. Rust science fiction novel "Epsilon."
- Address on the Opening of Pennsylvania Hall - John Greenleaf Whittier Poem on Pennsylvania Hall, burned upon its inauguration in 1838.
See also
External links
Definitions from Wiktionary
Media from Commons
News from Wikinews
Quotations from Wikiquote
Texts from Wikisource
Textbooks from Wikibooks
Resources from Wikiversity
- Official Government Website
- Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation
- Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau
- Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce
- Center City District
- Philly.com - Home page of the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News
- http://www.phillyblog.com (community forums)
- Philly Future - Popular Citizen Journalism and Blog Community
- Philly Health - Philadelphia Online Health Directory
- http://phillylocal.com (Online forums)
- http://phillyist.com (Editorials)
- http://www.libertynet.com (Portal)
- Irish Philadelphia
- http://www.phillyskyline.com (A photo blog)
- http://www.phillycrime.org (An unofficial crime-mapping site)
- Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia
- Philly's New rock and Alternative
- Philadelphia Weather
- Philly Gallery Guide
- Philadelphia Event Tickets
- Philadelphia Association of Contemporary Art
- Philadelphia Photo Gallery
- Young Involved Philadelphia
- Tourist Guide to Philidelphia
- ppawiki.org Unofficial Philadelphia Parking Authority Wiki
- PHIL blue (links for Philadelphia)
