Encyclopedia
Philadelphia, colloquially referred to as
Philly, and known as
The City of Brotherly Love is the fifth most populous
city in the
United States and the largest in population and area in the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania.
The population of the city was 1,517,550. According to the 2005
U.S. Census estimates, the city had a population of 1,463,281. Philadelphia is the second-largest city on the U.S. East Coast , and a major commercial, education, and cultural center for the nation. The two cities are only around 80 miles apart from their downtowns , amongst the closest distances between two cities of over 1,000,000 population in the world.
The Philadelphia metropolitan area is the
fourth largest in the U.S. by the current official definition, with some 5.8 million people.
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, and the second largest English speaking city in the world after
London. 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.
History
Before Europeans arrived, the Delaware 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 , 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 . 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.
Tun Tavern in the city is traditionally regarded as the location where, in 1775, the
United States Marine Corps was founded.
During the
American Revolutionary War Philadelphia's population was split between Loyalists and Patriots. When the British Army
took the city in 1777 many people lined the streets and sang 'God Save the King'. Upon the retaking of the city for the American cause in 1778 it was the turn of the Patriot population to line the streets in celebration, especially as the population had suffered through a bitter winter with many of the provisions going to the British Army. The subsequent harsh treatment of the Loyalists who had not fled the city was further suffering for Philadelphians.
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 .
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.
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 expansion incorporated present-day
West Philadelphia,
South Philadelphia,
North Philadelphia, and
Northeast Philadelphia, as well as
Germantown and many smaller communities.
An early railroad center, Philadelphia was the original home of the
Baldwin Locomotive Works, the world's largest builder of steam locomotives . 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.
In 1985 Philadelphia police bombed the Cobb's Creek section of West Philadelphia in order to combat a radical group known as MOVE. City officials allowed the fire to burn until it had consumed 62 area homes and left 11 dead.
Geography
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 369.4 km² . 349.9 km² of it is land and 19.6 km² of it is 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.
The counties adjacent to Philadelphia are
Montgomery County to the north;
Bucks County to the northeast;
Burlington County, New Jersey to the east;
Camden County, New Jersey to the southeast;
Gloucester County, New Jersey to the south; and
Delaware County to the west.
Climate
Philadelphia's climate is scarcely humid subtropical. The summer is hot and muggy, fall and spring are mild, and winter is chilly. Precipitation is almost uniformly distributed throughout the year.
January lows average 25 °F and highs average 39 °F . The lowest officially recorded temperature was -11 °F on February 9 1934, but temperatures below 14 °F are not common. July lows average 70 °F and highs average 86° F , although heat waves see highs above 95 °F with the heat index running as high as 110 °F . The highest temperature on record was 106 °F on August 7 1918. Early fall and late winter are generally driest, with February being the driest month with only 2.74 in of average precipitation.
Snowfall is variable, with some winters bringing light snow and others bringing many significant snowstorms. It is common for the heavier snowfall to occur
north and
west of the city, where the climate is continental. Rainfall is generally spread throughout the year, with eight to eleven wet days per month, at an average annual rate of 42 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 in ascending order from Front , along the
Delaware River, with the main north-south thoroughfare, Broad Street 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.
Fairmount Park is one of the largest municipal public parks in the world, at over 9,100 acres . This figure includes all parkland within the city limits, as all 65 city parks are considered part of Fairmount Park and overseen by the Fairmount Park Commission, but the park proper, which runs north/south through the city, does occupy nearly half that area, at over 4,100 acres on both banks of the
Schuylkill River and Wissahickon Creek.
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 , Market East and Penn's Landing; new development and expansion in
University City ; 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
Philadelphia's architectural history dates back to
Colonial times and has included a wide range of styles, sometimes showcased within a range of several blocks. Most of the city's
historic landmarks are in Old City and the Historical District in the
Society Hill neighborhood east of Center City, including Independence National Historical Park, home of
Independence Hall and the
Liberty Bell.
For almost a century, Philadelphia's most visible structure was its
baroque City Hall building and William Penn tower. Begun in 1871, City Hall took 30 years to complete and is the tallest load-bearing structure in the world at 548 feet, including the statue of
William Penn at its crown.
The former headquarters of the
Philadelphia Savings Fund Society , at the corner of 12th and Market Streets, erected in 1932, is widely considered the nation's first International Modernist
skyscraper. The building was designed by Swiss-American architect
William Lescaze and his partner George Howe. The building is a National Historic Landmark. In 1997, the building was purchased by the
Loews Corporation, and in April 2000 it reopened as the Loews Philadelphia Hotel. The signature PSFS sign, however, is considered an integral part of the historic architectural design and remains atop the building.
Perhaps owing to other, more pressing concerns including poverty, crime, and population loss, Philadelphia has had a fairly poor track record of historic preservation, aside from Colonial-era sites. Notable historic structures demolished in recent years that might have been saved if located in a more prosperous city include the Philadelphia Civic Center and Philadelphia Naval Hospital , JFK Stadium,a historic 1920's era athletic venue, and the Philadelphia Commercial Museum, an 1890's
neoclassical exhibit hall. Other important historic sites, including the Philadelphia Metropolitan Opera House, and even the famous
Philadelphia Museum of Art and
Philadelphia City Hall, have suffered from decades of neglect and poor upkeep.
Since the 1980s, modern skyscrapers have been erected west of City Hall eclipsing Penn's statue. As of 2006, the tallest structures are
One and
Two Liberty Place. In 2007, the Comcast Center, upon its expected completion, will become the tallest building in Philadelphia. Currently, thirteen skyrises, residential and commercial , are under construction, six have begun prep work, and seventeen are still in planning. Also nine skyrises are currently under renovation, and seven more are still in planning. Many of these projects will include multiple skyrises, adding to the number of actual buildings. Another seven cultural and commercial projects have begun, which consist of a slot facility, turning the
Philadelphia Naval Yard into a suburban style business park with urban amenities, new parks, educational towers, state of the art schools, and others. Another ten are in planning. Philadelphia has entered a period of urban renewal.
Most of the city's residential neighborhoods are
rowhouse communities, noted for streets lined with attached, single-family homes. Newer duplexes and single homes, as well as some older mansions and estates, are more common in the city's outskirts.
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 Chestnut Hill,
East Falls, Fishtown,
Fox Chase,
Frankford,
Germantown, Grays Ferry,
Kensington,
Manayunk, Mount Airy,
North Philadelphia,
Northern Liberties, Olney, Overbrook, Parkside, Port Richmond,
Powelton Village, Queen Village, Roxborough,
South Philadelphia,
University City, West Oak Lane, and many others. Prominent neighborhoods in Center City include
Chinatown, Fairmount, Old City,
Rittenhouse Square, Washington Square West and
Society Hill.
Suburbs
Philadelphia also has a significant
suburban area which depends on its economy and
public transportation , including areas of southeastern Pennsylvania , southern New Jersey and northern
Delaware. Various Philadelphia area television stations sometimes consider a wide range of areas as suburbs of Philadelphia, including the New Jersey shore as far north as
Monmouth County and as far south as Cape May, as well as southern
Delaware. Pennsylvania areas which are sometimes considered as distant suburbs or "exurbs" of Philadelphia include
Berks County, the
Lehigh Valley ,
Lancaster County, and even the southern most region of the
Poconos, including parts of
Monroe County and
Carbon County. Cecil County, Maryland, which I-95 runs through, is also sometimes included as a Philadelphia exurb.
Demographics
City of Philadelphia
Population by year
| 1790 | 28,522 |
| 1800 | 41,220 |
| 1810 | 53,722 |
| 1820 | 63,802 |
| 1830 | 80,462 |
| 1840 | 93,665 |
| 1850 | 121,376 |
| 1860 | 565,529 |
| 1870 | 674,022 |
| 1880 | 847,170 |
| 1890 | 1,046,964 |
| 1900 | 1,293,697 |
| 1910 | 1,549,008 |
| 1920 | 1,823,779 |
| 1930 | 1,950,961 |
| 1940 | 1,931,334 |
| 1950 | 2,071,605 |
| 1960 | 2,002,512 |
| 1970 | 1,948,609 |
| 1980 | 1,688,210 |
| 1990 | 1,585,577 |
| 2000 | 1,517,550 |
| 2005 | 1,463,281 |
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 . There were 661,958 housing units at an average density of 1,891.9/km² . As of the 2004 Census estimations, there were 1,463,281 people, 658,799 housing units, and the racial makeup of the city was 40.0%
White, 45.2%
African American, 5.2% Asian, 0.3% Native American, 0.1% Pacific Islander, from 5.8%
other races, and 2.2% from two or more races.
Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.7% of the population.
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. About 18.4% of families and 22.9% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 31.3% of those under age 18 and 16.9% of those age 65 or over.
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.
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 , 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 , out of a total of 32 such cities. Among its neighboring Northeastern cities in the same population group,
Baltimore and
Washington, D.C. were ranked second- and third- most dangerous, while
